HC sets free two men accused of gangraping colleague

Delhi High Court has set free two men of the charge of gangraping their colleague, saying there was "inconsistency" in the woman's version about the incident.
Holding that the two convicts, who have been in custody since June 2009, "deserve the benefit of doubt", Justice S P Garg directed their release from jail immediately.
"...Nothing has come on record to show if during her employment in the factory for about a month, the appellants had an evil eye on her or had attempted any time to outrage her modesty. No complaint whatsoever was filed by the victim against any of the appellants any time.

"Considering the inconsistent and conflicting versions narrated by the prosecutrix (woman) at different stages of investigation, conviction and sentence of the appellants cannot be sustained in the absence of independent corroboration. The appellants deserve benefit of doubt," the court said.
The court's verdict came on an appeal filed by the duo who had challenged their conviction and 10 year jail term awarded by the trial court here in July 2014. Besides the sentence, the two were also fined Rs 10,000 each.
The high court set aside the trial court's order and said that "on perusal of statements of the prosecution witnesses and various exhibits on record, they revealed infirmities or inconsistencies which have emerged on record making it unsafe to base conviction on the solitary testimony of the prosecutrix without independent corroboration".

As per the police, the woman was gangraped by the two when she went to the factory premises of one of the accused on June 14, 2009. On the day of the alleged incident, she had gone there to collect her wages, police had said.

As per the charge sheet in the robbery case, the police
had alleged that bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Vinay, Pawan and Akshay, along with the juvenile, had snatched the 35-year-old carpenter's mobile phone and Rs 1,500 after luring him into the bus.
Mukesh, Vinay, Pawan and Akshay were awarded death penalty on September 10, 2013 by a trial court here in the gangrape and murder case which was later confirmed by Delhi High Court on March 13, 2014.

Their appeals are pending before the Supreme Court.
Out of the six, accused Ram Singh had allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail on March 11, 2013 and proceedings against him were abated.
On August 31, 2013 the Juvenile Justice Board sentenced the minor accused to a three-year stay in a special home for gangrape and murder of the girl.
The juvenile, now 21-year-old, was released from the reformation home in November last year.