A protest against the gangrape convicts. Archive
It took just nine months for a Delhi fast track court to complete the trial in the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder of the 23-year-old paramedical student — four convicts were sentenced to death.
But while the wheels of justice moved swiftly amid widespread outrage over the incident, several similar cases are still waiting in queue in various Delhi courts.
The fast track court was one of the six set up in January 2013 to hear cases of sexual assaults on women in the wake of the December 16 case. But according to records available till September 2015, there are 162 cases pending in this court alone, including at least 37 that were referred to it in 2013.
In the national capital, at least 3,500 cases of assault on women and minors are pending in these fast track courts and others designated to hear cases under the Protection Of Child Sexual Offences Act, according to official data from the fast track courts and sources at POCSO courts. Of these, records show, 1,529 are pending in the fast track courts — there are nine such courts now.
The Indian Express focused on three such cases — including one from a fast track court formed after December 16 — to find out what is stalling the pursuit of crimes as horrifying as the one that shocked the nation exactly Dec 16 trial done in record 9 months but wheels of justice stall in other rape cases three years ago.
These include the rape of a 24-year-old woman by members of a local cricket team to the abduction and rape inside a car of a 17-year-old Delhi University student and the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.
7 years later, accused is ‘juvenile’
In 2009, a 24-year-old student was coming back home in Delhi with a male classmate from a mall in Noida’s Sector 38, when they were assaulted by a group of 11 men from a local cricket team, according to police records. They allegedly overpowered the girl’s friend with cricket bats and stumps, and gangraped her, records show.
In 2013, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the Delhi fast track court following a petition from the girl’s friend who was the only eyewitness to the alleged gangrape. He had moved the apex court after being allegedly threatened by the accused, following his testimony in a lower court in which he identified all the 11 men.
The victim, meanwhile, cut short her studies and moved to the UK because of threats from her attackers. While all the accused are on bail, she stills waits for justice.
The reason for delay, records show, is that one of the accused has now moved a plea before the fast track court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
On November 5, the court issued notice to the principal of a high school in Gautam Budh Nagar to appear in person with all the relevant records and depose whether the accused had studied in the school. The court is currently hearing the accused’s plea.
“In the beginning, the delay was caused by UP officials as they would not produce the case property. Now, after so many years, a plea has been moved by one of the accused claiming he was a juvenile at the time. Did the investigation agency not ascertain the age of the accused while filing the charge sheet? This has now further caused a delay in the trial,” said Advocate Shubra Mehndiratta, counsel for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is representing the victim in the case.
9 months of final hearings
On August 2010, a 17-year-old student of Delhi University was allegedly abducted and raped by a 50-year-old businessman inside his car from west Delhi, according to the case file.
The accused, a resident of Ashok Vihar in North Delhi, later allegedly dumped the student in front of her college, records show. They add that the victim was later hospitalised and under medical examination for three days.
In December 2010, a special court framed charges of rape and abduction against the accused. In January 2011, the victim deposed before court. Three months later, the forensic report was filed.
However, the court then took 39 months to record the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses — an average of two and-a-half months per witness. It took another six months to record evidence from the defence. From March this year, the court has been hearing the final arguments in the case.
“This is how system works when the media does not highlight a case. The delay in this case was caused because the court was burdened with other different cases. Second, there was a huge gap between the dates, exemptions were sought, all delaying the trial,” said a prosecutor on the condition of anonymity.
“In the December 16 case, it took nine months to complete the entire trial. Here, the same time has been taken to just hear the final arguments,” added the prosecutor.
‘We have no option but to wait’
In April 2013, the national capital was in uproar again after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl from a slum in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. Police said the minor was kidnapped, starved and brutally tortured for two days.
In over two months, a lower court paved the way for the trial of the two accused on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By June 2014, the court had almost completed recording of the 59 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
But matters stalled as one of the accused had moved an application that April for an ossification test claiming to be a minor. A scientific report proved he was a major, and the court dismissed his application. But five months later, he moved a similar plea by his mother, this time with his school certificate and other documents.
The court is yet to decide on the plea, as the matter is still under investigation.
“Until the time media covered the trial, they was pace in the trial. The medical examination says he is a major. But his lawyers have again moved the same plea. This time it has taken more than a year to just hear the plea. We have no other option, but to wait for justice,” said the victim’s uncle.
The girl, meanwhile, has moved out Delhi. The uncle says she’s studying in first grade and “loves spending time in school”. But the family — her father, the only breadwinner, is a gardener — is still waiting for justice.
Sources: - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/benchmark-trial-done-in-record-9-months-wheels-of-justice-stall-in-other-rape-cases/#sthash.H1ZhPl7V.dpuf
It took just nine months for a Delhi fast track court to complete the trial in the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder of the 23-year-old paramedical student — four convicts were sentenced to death.
But while the wheels of justice moved swiftly amid widespread outrage over the incident, several similar cases are still waiting in queue in various Delhi courts.
The fast track court was one of the six set up in January 2013 to hear cases of sexual assaults on women in the wake of the December 16 case. But according to records available till September 2015, there are 162 cases pending in this court alone, including at least 37 that were referred to it in 2013.
In the national capital, at least 3,500 cases of assault on women and minors are pending in these fast track courts and others designated to hear cases under the Protection Of Child Sexual Offences Act, according to official data from the fast track courts and sources at POCSO courts. Of these, records show, 1,529 are pending in the fast track courts — there are nine such courts now.
The Indian Express focused on three such cases — including one from a fast track court formed after December 16 — to find out what is stalling the pursuit of crimes as horrifying as the one that shocked the nation exactly Dec 16 trial done in record 9 months but wheels of justice stall in other rape cases three years ago.
These include the rape of a 24-year-old woman by members of a local cricket team to the abduction and rape inside a car of a 17-year-old Delhi University student and the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.
7 years later, accused is ‘juvenile’
In 2009, a 24-year-old student was coming back home in Delhi with a male classmate from a mall in Noida’s Sector 38, when they were assaulted by a group of 11 men from a local cricket team, according to police records. They allegedly overpowered the girl’s friend with cricket bats and stumps, and gangraped her, records show.
In 2013, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the Delhi fast track court following a petition from the girl’s friend who was the only eyewitness to the alleged gangrape. He had moved the apex court after being allegedly threatened by the accused, following his testimony in a lower court in which he identified all the 11 men.
The victim, meanwhile, cut short her studies and moved to the UK because of threats from her attackers. While all the accused are on bail, she stills waits for justice.
The reason for delay, records show, is that one of the accused has now moved a plea before the fast track court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
On November 5, the court issued notice to the principal of a high school in Gautam Budh Nagar to appear in person with all the relevant records and depose whether the accused had studied in the school. The court is currently hearing the accused’s plea.
“In the beginning, the delay was caused by UP officials as they would not produce the case property. Now, after so many years, a plea has been moved by one of the accused claiming he was a juvenile at the time. Did the investigation agency not ascertain the age of the accused while filing the charge sheet? This has now further caused a delay in the trial,” said Advocate Shubra Mehndiratta, counsel for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is representing the victim in the case.
9 months of final hearings
On August 2010, a 17-year-old student of Delhi University was allegedly abducted and raped by a 50-year-old businessman inside his car from west Delhi, according to the case file.
The accused, a resident of Ashok Vihar in North Delhi, later allegedly dumped the student in front of her college, records show. They add that the victim was later hospitalised and under medical examination for three days.
In December 2010, a special court framed charges of rape and abduction against the accused. In January 2011, the victim deposed before court. Three months later, the forensic report was filed.
However, the court then took 39 months to record the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses — an average of two and-a-half months per witness. It took another six months to record evidence from the defence. From March this year, the court has been hearing the final arguments in the case.
“This is how system works when the media does not highlight a case. The delay in this case was caused because the court was burdened with other different cases. Second, there was a huge gap between the dates, exemptions were sought, all delaying the trial,” said a prosecutor on the condition of anonymity.
“In the December 16 case, it took nine months to complete the entire trial. Here, the same time has been taken to just hear the final arguments,” added the prosecutor.
‘We have no option but to wait’
In April 2013, the national capital was in uproar again after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl from a slum in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. Police said the minor was kidnapped, starved and brutally tortured for two days.
In over two months, a lower court paved the way for the trial of the two accused on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By June 2014, the court had almost completed recording of the 59 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
But matters stalled as one of the accused had moved an application that April for an ossification test claiming to be a minor. A scientific report proved he was a major, and the court dismissed his application. But five months later, he moved a similar plea by his mother, this time with his school certificate and other documents.
The court is yet to decide on the plea, as the matter is still under investigation.
“Until the time media covered the trial, they was pace in the trial. The medical examination says he is a major. But his lawyers have again moved the same plea. This time it has taken more than a year to just hear the plea. We have no other option, but to wait for justice,” said the victim’s uncle.
The girl, meanwhile, has moved out Delhi. The uncle says she’s studying in first grade and “loves spending time in school”. But the family — her father, the only breadwinner, is a gardener — is still waiting for justice.
A protest against the gangrape convicts. Archive
It took just nine months for a Delhi fast track court to complete the
trial in the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder of the 23-year-old
paramedical student — four convicts were sentenced to death.
But while the wheels of justice moved swiftly amid widespread outrage over the incident, several similar cases are still waiting in queue in various Delhi courts.
The fast track court was one of the six set up in January 2013 to
hear cases of sexual assaults on women in the wake of the December 16
case. But according to records available till September 2015, there are
162 cases pending in this court alone, including at least 37 that were
referred to it in 2013.
In the national capital, at least 3,500 cases of assault on women and minors are pending in these fast track courts and others designated to hear cases under the Protection Of Child Sexual Offences Act, according to official data from the fast track courts and sources at POCSO courts. Of these, records show, 1,529 are pending in the fast track courts — there are nine such courts now.
The Indian Express focused on three such cases — including one from a fast track court formed after December 16 — to find out what is stalling the pursuit of crimes as horrifying as the one that shocked the nation exactly Dec 16 trial done in record 9 months but wheels of justice stall in other rape cases three years ago.
These include the rape of a 24-year-old woman by members of a local cricket team to the abduction and rape inside a car of a 17-year-old Delhi University student and the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.
7 years later, accused is ‘juvenile’
In 2009, a 24-year-old student was coming back home in Delhi with a male classmate from a mall in Noida’s Sector 38, when they were assaulted by a group of 11 men from a local cricket team, according to police records. They allegedly overpowered the girl’s friend with cricket bats and stumps, and gangraped her, records show.
In 2013, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the Delhi fast track court following a petition from the girl’s friend who was the only eyewitness to the alleged gangrape. He had moved the apex court after being allegedly threatened by the accused, following his testimony in a lower court in which he identified all the 11 men.
The victim, meanwhile, cut short her studies and moved to the UK because of threats from her attackers. While all the accused are on bail, she stills waits for justice.
The reason for delay, records show, is that one of the accused has now moved a plea before the fast track court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
On November 5, the court issued notice to the principal of a high school in Gautam Budh Nagar to appear in person with all the relevant records and depose whether the accused had studied in the school. The court is currently hearing the accused’s plea.
“In the beginning, the delay was caused by UP officials as they would not produce the case property. Now, after so many years, a plea has been moved by one of the accused claiming he was a juvenile at the time. Did the investigation agency not ascertain the age of the accused while filing the charge sheet? This has now further caused a delay in the trial,” said Advocate Shubra Mehndiratta, counsel for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is representing the victim in the case.
9 months of final hearings
On August 2010, a 17-year-old student of Delhi University was allegedly abducted and raped by a 50-year-old businessman inside his car from west Delhi, according to the case file.
The accused, a resident of Ashok Vihar in North Delhi, later allegedly dumped the student in front of her college, records show. They add that the victim was later hospitalised and under medical examination for three days.
In December 2010, a special court framed charges of rape and abduction against the accused. In January 2011, the victim deposed before court. Three months later, the forensic report was filed.
However, the court then took 39 months to record the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses — an average of two and-a-half months per witness. It took another six months to record evidence from the defence. From March this year, the court has been hearing the final arguments in the case.
“This is how system works when the media does not highlight a case. The delay in this case was caused because the court was burdened with other different cases. Second, there was a huge gap between the dates, exemptions were sought, all delaying the trial,” said a prosecutor on the condition of anonymity.
“In the December 16 case, it took nine months to complete the entire trial. Here, the same time has been taken to just hear the final arguments,” added the prosecutor.
‘We have no option but to wait’
In April 2013, the national capital was in uproar again after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl from a slum in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. Police said the minor was kidnapped, starved and brutally tortured for two days.
In over two months, a lower court paved the way for the trial of the two accused on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By June 2014, the court had almost completed recording of the 59 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
But matters stalled as one of the accused had moved an application that April for an ossification test claiming to be a minor. A scientific report proved he was a major, and the court dismissed his application. But five months later, he moved a similar plea by his mother, this time with his school certificate and other documents.
The court is yet to decide on the plea, as the matter is still under investigation.
“Until the time media covered the trial, they was pace in the trial. The medical examination says he is a major. But his lawyers have again moved the same plea. This time it has taken more than a year to just hear the plea. We have no other option, but to wait for justice,” said the victim’s uncle.
The girl, meanwhile, has moved out Delhi. The uncle says she’s studying in first grade and “loves spending time in school”. But the family — her father, the only breadwinner, is a gardener — is still waiting for justice.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/benchmark-trial-done-in-record-9-months-wheels-of-justice-stall-in-other-rape-cases/#sthash.H1ZhPl7V.dpuf
But while the wheels of justice moved swiftly amid widespread outrage over the incident, several similar cases are still waiting in queue in various Delhi courts.
In the national capital, at least 3,500 cases of assault on women and minors are pending in these fast track courts and others designated to hear cases under the Protection Of Child Sexual Offences Act, according to official data from the fast track courts and sources at POCSO courts. Of these, records show, 1,529 are pending in the fast track courts — there are nine such courts now.
The Indian Express focused on three such cases — including one from a fast track court formed after December 16 — to find out what is stalling the pursuit of crimes as horrifying as the one that shocked the nation exactly Dec 16 trial done in record 9 months but wheels of justice stall in other rape cases three years ago.
These include the rape of a 24-year-old woman by members of a local cricket team to the abduction and rape inside a car of a 17-year-old Delhi University student and the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.
7 years later, accused is ‘juvenile’
In 2009, a 24-year-old student was coming back home in Delhi with a male classmate from a mall in Noida’s Sector 38, when they were assaulted by a group of 11 men from a local cricket team, according to police records. They allegedly overpowered the girl’s friend with cricket bats and stumps, and gangraped her, records show.
In 2013, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the Delhi fast track court following a petition from the girl’s friend who was the only eyewitness to the alleged gangrape. He had moved the apex court after being allegedly threatened by the accused, following his testimony in a lower court in which he identified all the 11 men.
The victim, meanwhile, cut short her studies and moved to the UK because of threats from her attackers. While all the accused are on bail, she stills waits for justice.
The reason for delay, records show, is that one of the accused has now moved a plea before the fast track court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
On November 5, the court issued notice to the principal of a high school in Gautam Budh Nagar to appear in person with all the relevant records and depose whether the accused had studied in the school. The court is currently hearing the accused’s plea.
“In the beginning, the delay was caused by UP officials as they would not produce the case property. Now, after so many years, a plea has been moved by one of the accused claiming he was a juvenile at the time. Did the investigation agency not ascertain the age of the accused while filing the charge sheet? This has now further caused a delay in the trial,” said Advocate Shubra Mehndiratta, counsel for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is representing the victim in the case.
9 months of final hearings
On August 2010, a 17-year-old student of Delhi University was allegedly abducted and raped by a 50-year-old businessman inside his car from west Delhi, according to the case file.
The accused, a resident of Ashok Vihar in North Delhi, later allegedly dumped the student in front of her college, records show. They add that the victim was later hospitalised and under medical examination for three days.
In December 2010, a special court framed charges of rape and abduction against the accused. In January 2011, the victim deposed before court. Three months later, the forensic report was filed.
However, the court then took 39 months to record the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses — an average of two and-a-half months per witness. It took another six months to record evidence from the defence. From March this year, the court has been hearing the final arguments in the case.
“This is how system works when the media does not highlight a case. The delay in this case was caused because the court was burdened with other different cases. Second, there was a huge gap between the dates, exemptions were sought, all delaying the trial,” said a prosecutor on the condition of anonymity.
“In the December 16 case, it took nine months to complete the entire trial. Here, the same time has been taken to just hear the final arguments,” added the prosecutor.
‘We have no option but to wait’
In April 2013, the national capital was in uproar again after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl from a slum in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. Police said the minor was kidnapped, starved and brutally tortured for two days.
In over two months, a lower court paved the way for the trial of the two accused on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By June 2014, the court had almost completed recording of the 59 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
But matters stalled as one of the accused had moved an application that April for an ossification test claiming to be a minor. A scientific report proved he was a major, and the court dismissed his application. But five months later, he moved a similar plea by his mother, this time with his school certificate and other documents.
The court is yet to decide on the plea, as the matter is still under investigation.
“Until the time media covered the trial, they was pace in the trial. The medical examination says he is a major. But his lawyers have again moved the same plea. This time it has taken more than a year to just hear the plea. We have no other option, but to wait for justice,” said the victim’s uncle.
The girl, meanwhile, has moved out Delhi. The uncle says she’s studying in first grade and “loves spending time in school”. But the family — her father, the only breadwinner, is a gardener — is still waiting for justice.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/benchmark-trial-done-in-record-9-months-wheels-of-justice-stall-in-other-rape-cases/#sthash.H1ZhPl7V.dpuf
A protest against the gangrape convicts. Archive
It took just nine months for a Delhi fast track court to complete the
trial in the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder of the 23-year-old
paramedical student — four convicts were sentenced to death.
But while the wheels of justice moved swiftly amid widespread outrage over the incident, several similar cases are still waiting in queue in various Delhi courts.
The fast track court was one of the six set up in January 2013 to
hear cases of sexual assaults on women in the wake of the December 16
case. But according to records available till September 2015, there are
162 cases pending in this court alone, including at least 37 that were
referred to it in 2013.
In the national capital, at least 3,500 cases of assault on women and minors are pending in these fast track courts and others designated to hear cases under the Protection Of Child Sexual Offences Act, according to official data from the fast track courts and sources at POCSO courts. Of these, records show, 1,529 are pending in the fast track courts — there are nine such courts now.
The Indian Express focused on three such cases — including one from a fast track court formed after December 16 — to find out what is stalling the pursuit of crimes as horrifying as the one that shocked the nation exactly Dec 16 trial done in record 9 months but wheels of justice stall in other rape cases three years ago.
These include the rape of a 24-year-old woman by members of a local cricket team to the abduction and rape inside a car of a 17-year-old Delhi University student and the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.
7 years later, accused is ‘juvenile’
In 2009, a 24-year-old student was coming back home in Delhi with a male classmate from a mall in Noida’s Sector 38, when they were assaulted by a group of 11 men from a local cricket team, according to police records. They allegedly overpowered the girl’s friend with cricket bats and stumps, and gangraped her, records show.
In 2013, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the Delhi fast track court following a petition from the girl’s friend who was the only eyewitness to the alleged gangrape. He had moved the apex court after being allegedly threatened by the accused, following his testimony in a lower court in which he identified all the 11 men.
The victim, meanwhile, cut short her studies and moved to the UK because of threats from her attackers. While all the accused are on bail, she stills waits for justice.
The reason for delay, records show, is that one of the accused has now moved a plea before the fast track court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
On November 5, the court issued notice to the principal of a high school in Gautam Budh Nagar to appear in person with all the relevant records and depose whether the accused had studied in the school. The court is currently hearing the accused’s plea.
“In the beginning, the delay was caused by UP officials as they would not produce the case property. Now, after so many years, a plea has been moved by one of the accused claiming he was a juvenile at the time. Did the investigation agency not ascertain the age of the accused while filing the charge sheet? This has now further caused a delay in the trial,” said Advocate Shubra Mehndiratta, counsel for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is representing the victim in the case.
9 months of final hearings
On August 2010, a 17-year-old student of Delhi University was allegedly abducted and raped by a 50-year-old businessman inside his car from west Delhi, according to the case file.
The accused, a resident of Ashok Vihar in North Delhi, later allegedly dumped the student in front of her college, records show. They add that the victim was later hospitalised and under medical examination for three days.
In December 2010, a special court framed charges of rape and abduction against the accused. In January 2011, the victim deposed before court. Three months later, the forensic report was filed.
However, the court then took 39 months to record the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses — an average of two and-a-half months per witness. It took another six months to record evidence from the defence. From March this year, the court has been hearing the final arguments in the case.
“This is how system works when the media does not highlight a case. The delay in this case was caused because the court was burdened with other different cases. Second, there was a huge gap between the dates, exemptions were sought, all delaying the trial,” said a prosecutor on the condition of anonymity.
“In the December 16 case, it took nine months to complete the entire trial. Here, the same time has been taken to just hear the final arguments,” added the prosecutor.
‘We have no option but to wait’
In April 2013, the national capital was in uproar again after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl from a slum in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. Police said the minor was kidnapped, starved and brutally tortured for two days.
In over two months, a lower court paved the way for the trial of the two accused on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By June 2014, the court had almost completed recording of the 59 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
But matters stalled as one of the accused had moved an application that April for an ossification test claiming to be a minor. A scientific report proved he was a major, and the court dismissed his application. But five months later, he moved a similar plea by his mother, this time with his school certificate and other documents.
The court is yet to decide on the plea, as the matter is still under investigation.
“Until the time media covered the trial, they was pace in the trial. The medical examination says he is a major. But his lawyers have again moved the same plea. This time it has taken more than a year to just hear the plea. We have no other option, but to wait for justice,” said the victim’s uncle.
The girl, meanwhile, has moved out Delhi. The uncle says she’s studying in first grade and “loves spending time in school”. But the family — her father, the only breadwinner, is a gardener — is still waiting for justice.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/benchmark-trial-done-in-record-9-months-wheels-of-justice-stall-in-other-rape-cases/#sthash.H1ZhPl7V.dpuf
But while the wheels of justice moved swiftly amid widespread outrage over the incident, several similar cases are still waiting in queue in various Delhi courts.
In the national capital, at least 3,500 cases of assault on women and minors are pending in these fast track courts and others designated to hear cases under the Protection Of Child Sexual Offences Act, according to official data from the fast track courts and sources at POCSO courts. Of these, records show, 1,529 are pending in the fast track courts — there are nine such courts now.
The Indian Express focused on three such cases — including one from a fast track court formed after December 16 — to find out what is stalling the pursuit of crimes as horrifying as the one that shocked the nation exactly Dec 16 trial done in record 9 months but wheels of justice stall in other rape cases three years ago.
These include the rape of a 24-year-old woman by members of a local cricket team to the abduction and rape inside a car of a 17-year-old Delhi University student and the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.
7 years later, accused is ‘juvenile’
In 2009, a 24-year-old student was coming back home in Delhi with a male classmate from a mall in Noida’s Sector 38, when they were assaulted by a group of 11 men from a local cricket team, according to police records. They allegedly overpowered the girl’s friend with cricket bats and stumps, and gangraped her, records show.
In 2013, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the Delhi fast track court following a petition from the girl’s friend who was the only eyewitness to the alleged gangrape. He had moved the apex court after being allegedly threatened by the accused, following his testimony in a lower court in which he identified all the 11 men.
The victim, meanwhile, cut short her studies and moved to the UK because of threats from her attackers. While all the accused are on bail, she stills waits for justice.
The reason for delay, records show, is that one of the accused has now moved a plea before the fast track court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
On November 5, the court issued notice to the principal of a high school in Gautam Budh Nagar to appear in person with all the relevant records and depose whether the accused had studied in the school. The court is currently hearing the accused’s plea.
“In the beginning, the delay was caused by UP officials as they would not produce the case property. Now, after so many years, a plea has been moved by one of the accused claiming he was a juvenile at the time. Did the investigation agency not ascertain the age of the accused while filing the charge sheet? This has now further caused a delay in the trial,” said Advocate Shubra Mehndiratta, counsel for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is representing the victim in the case.
9 months of final hearings
On August 2010, a 17-year-old student of Delhi University was allegedly abducted and raped by a 50-year-old businessman inside his car from west Delhi, according to the case file.
The accused, a resident of Ashok Vihar in North Delhi, later allegedly dumped the student in front of her college, records show. They add that the victim was later hospitalised and under medical examination for three days.
In December 2010, a special court framed charges of rape and abduction against the accused. In January 2011, the victim deposed before court. Three months later, the forensic report was filed.
However, the court then took 39 months to record the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses — an average of two and-a-half months per witness. It took another six months to record evidence from the defence. From March this year, the court has been hearing the final arguments in the case.
“This is how system works when the media does not highlight a case. The delay in this case was caused because the court was burdened with other different cases. Second, there was a huge gap between the dates, exemptions were sought, all delaying the trial,” said a prosecutor on the condition of anonymity.
“In the December 16 case, it took nine months to complete the entire trial. Here, the same time has been taken to just hear the final arguments,” added the prosecutor.
‘We have no option but to wait’
In April 2013, the national capital was in uproar again after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl from a slum in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. Police said the minor was kidnapped, starved and brutally tortured for two days.
In over two months, a lower court paved the way for the trial of the two accused on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By June 2014, the court had almost completed recording of the 59 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
But matters stalled as one of the accused had moved an application that April for an ossification test claiming to be a minor. A scientific report proved he was a major, and the court dismissed his application. But five months later, he moved a similar plea by his mother, this time with his school certificate and other documents.
The court is yet to decide on the plea, as the matter is still under investigation.
“Until the time media covered the trial, they was pace in the trial. The medical examination says he is a major. But his lawyers have again moved the same plea. This time it has taken more than a year to just hear the plea. We have no other option, but to wait for justice,” said the victim’s uncle.
The girl, meanwhile, has moved out Delhi. The uncle says she’s studying in first grade and “loves spending time in school”. But the family — her father, the only breadwinner, is a gardener — is still waiting for justice.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/benchmark-trial-done-in-record-9-months-wheels-of-justice-stall-in-other-rape-cases/#sthash.H1ZhPl7V.dpuf
A protest against the gangrape convicts. Archive
It took just nine months for a Delhi fast track court to complete the
trial in the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder of the 23-year-old
paramedical student — four convicts were sentenced to death.
But while the wheels of justice moved swiftly amid widespread outrage over the incident, several similar cases are still waiting in queue in various Delhi courts.
The fast track court was one of the six set up in January 2013 to
hear cases of sexual assaults on women in the wake of the December 16
case. But according to records available till September 2015, there are
162 cases pending in this court alone, including at least 37 that were
referred to it in 2013.
In the national capital, at least 3,500 cases of assault on women and minors are pending in these fast track courts and others designated to hear cases under the Protection Of Child Sexual Offences Act, according to official data from the fast track courts and sources at POCSO courts. Of these, records show, 1,529 are pending in the fast track courts — there are nine such courts now.
The Indian Express focused on three such cases — including one from a fast track court formed after December 16 — to find out what is stalling the pursuit of crimes as horrifying as the one that shocked the nation exactly Dec 16 trial done in record 9 months but wheels of justice stall in other rape cases three years ago.
These include the rape of a 24-year-old woman by members of a local cricket team to the abduction and rape inside a car of a 17-year-old Delhi University student and the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.
7 years later, accused is ‘juvenile’
In 2009, a 24-year-old student was coming back home in Delhi with a male classmate from a mall in Noida’s Sector 38, when they were assaulted by a group of 11 men from a local cricket team, according to police records. They allegedly overpowered the girl’s friend with cricket bats and stumps, and gangraped her, records show.
In 2013, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the Delhi fast track court following a petition from the girl’s friend who was the only eyewitness to the alleged gangrape. He had moved the apex court after being allegedly threatened by the accused, following his testimony in a lower court in which he identified all the 11 men.
The victim, meanwhile, cut short her studies and moved to the UK because of threats from her attackers. While all the accused are on bail, she stills waits for justice.
The reason for delay, records show, is that one of the accused has now moved a plea before the fast track court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
On November 5, the court issued notice to the principal of a high school in Gautam Budh Nagar to appear in person with all the relevant records and depose whether the accused had studied in the school. The court is currently hearing the accused’s plea.
“In the beginning, the delay was caused by UP officials as they would not produce the case property. Now, after so many years, a plea has been moved by one of the accused claiming he was a juvenile at the time. Did the investigation agency not ascertain the age of the accused while filing the charge sheet? This has now further caused a delay in the trial,” said Advocate Shubra Mehndiratta, counsel for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is representing the victim in the case.
9 months of final hearings
On August 2010, a 17-year-old student of Delhi University was allegedly abducted and raped by a 50-year-old businessman inside his car from west Delhi, according to the case file.
The accused, a resident of Ashok Vihar in North Delhi, later allegedly dumped the student in front of her college, records show. They add that the victim was later hospitalised and under medical examination for three days.
In December 2010, a special court framed charges of rape and abduction against the accused. In January 2011, the victim deposed before court. Three months later, the forensic report was filed.
However, the court then took 39 months to record the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses — an average of two and-a-half months per witness. It took another six months to record evidence from the defence. From March this year, the court has been hearing the final arguments in the case.
“This is how system works when the media does not highlight a case. The delay in this case was caused because the court was burdened with other different cases. Second, there was a huge gap between the dates, exemptions were sought, all delaying the trial,” said a prosecutor on the condition of anonymity.
“In the December 16 case, it took nine months to complete the entire trial. Here, the same time has been taken to just hear the final arguments,” added the prosecutor.
‘We have no option but to wait’
In April 2013, the national capital was in uproar again after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl from a slum in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. Police said the minor was kidnapped, starved and brutally tortured for two days.
In over two months, a lower court paved the way for the trial of the two accused on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By June 2014, the court had almost completed recording of the 59 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
But matters stalled as one of the accused had moved an application that April for an ossification test claiming to be a minor. A scientific report proved he was a major, and the court dismissed his application. But five months later, he moved a similar plea by his mother, this time with his school certificate and other documents.
The court is yet to decide on the plea, as the matter is still under investigation.
“Until the time media covered the trial, they was pace in the trial. The medical examination says he is a major. But his lawyers have again moved the same plea. This time it has taken more than a year to just hear the plea. We have no other option, but to wait for justice,” said the victim’s uncle.
The girl, meanwhile, has moved out Delhi. The uncle says she’s studying in first grade and “loves spending time in school”. But the family — her father, the only breadwinner, is a gardener — is still waiting for justice.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/benchmark-trial-done-in-record-9-months-wheels-of-justice-stall-in-other-rape-cases/#sthash.H1ZhPl7V.dpuf
But while the wheels of justice moved swiftly amid widespread outrage over the incident, several similar cases are still waiting in queue in various Delhi courts.
In the national capital, at least 3,500 cases of assault on women and minors are pending in these fast track courts and others designated to hear cases under the Protection Of Child Sexual Offences Act, according to official data from the fast track courts and sources at POCSO courts. Of these, records show, 1,529 are pending in the fast track courts — there are nine such courts now.
The Indian Express focused on three such cases — including one from a fast track court formed after December 16 — to find out what is stalling the pursuit of crimes as horrifying as the one that shocked the nation exactly Dec 16 trial done in record 9 months but wheels of justice stall in other rape cases three years ago.
These include the rape of a 24-year-old woman by members of a local cricket team to the abduction and rape inside a car of a 17-year-old Delhi University student and the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.
7 years later, accused is ‘juvenile’
In 2009, a 24-year-old student was coming back home in Delhi with a male classmate from a mall in Noida’s Sector 38, when they were assaulted by a group of 11 men from a local cricket team, according to police records. They allegedly overpowered the girl’s friend with cricket bats and stumps, and gangraped her, records show.
In 2013, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the Delhi fast track court following a petition from the girl’s friend who was the only eyewitness to the alleged gangrape. He had moved the apex court after being allegedly threatened by the accused, following his testimony in a lower court in which he identified all the 11 men.
The victim, meanwhile, cut short her studies and moved to the UK because of threats from her attackers. While all the accused are on bail, she stills waits for justice.
The reason for delay, records show, is that one of the accused has now moved a plea before the fast track court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
On November 5, the court issued notice to the principal of a high school in Gautam Budh Nagar to appear in person with all the relevant records and depose whether the accused had studied in the school. The court is currently hearing the accused’s plea.
“In the beginning, the delay was caused by UP officials as they would not produce the case property. Now, after so many years, a plea has been moved by one of the accused claiming he was a juvenile at the time. Did the investigation agency not ascertain the age of the accused while filing the charge sheet? This has now further caused a delay in the trial,” said Advocate Shubra Mehndiratta, counsel for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is representing the victim in the case.
9 months of final hearings
On August 2010, a 17-year-old student of Delhi University was allegedly abducted and raped by a 50-year-old businessman inside his car from west Delhi, according to the case file.
The accused, a resident of Ashok Vihar in North Delhi, later allegedly dumped the student in front of her college, records show. They add that the victim was later hospitalised and under medical examination for three days.
In December 2010, a special court framed charges of rape and abduction against the accused. In January 2011, the victim deposed before court. Three months later, the forensic report was filed.
However, the court then took 39 months to record the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses — an average of two and-a-half months per witness. It took another six months to record evidence from the defence. From March this year, the court has been hearing the final arguments in the case.
“This is how system works when the media does not highlight a case. The delay in this case was caused because the court was burdened with other different cases. Second, there was a huge gap between the dates, exemptions were sought, all delaying the trial,” said a prosecutor on the condition of anonymity.
“In the December 16 case, it took nine months to complete the entire trial. Here, the same time has been taken to just hear the final arguments,” added the prosecutor.
‘We have no option but to wait’
In April 2013, the national capital was in uproar again after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl from a slum in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. Police said the minor was kidnapped, starved and brutally tortured for two days.
In over two months, a lower court paved the way for the trial of the two accused on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By June 2014, the court had almost completed recording of the 59 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
But matters stalled as one of the accused had moved an application that April for an ossification test claiming to be a minor. A scientific report proved he was a major, and the court dismissed his application. But five months later, he moved a similar plea by his mother, this time with his school certificate and other documents.
The court is yet to decide on the plea, as the matter is still under investigation.
“Until the time media covered the trial, they was pace in the trial. The medical examination says he is a major. But his lawyers have again moved the same plea. This time it has taken more than a year to just hear the plea. We have no other option, but to wait for justice,” said the victim’s uncle.
The girl, meanwhile, has moved out Delhi. The uncle says she’s studying in first grade and “loves spending time in school”. But the family — her father, the only breadwinner, is a gardener — is still waiting for justice.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/benchmark-trial-done-in-record-9-months-wheels-of-justice-stall-in-other-rape-cases/#sthash.H1ZhPl7V.dpuf
A protest against the gangrape convicts. Archive
It took just nine months for a Delhi fast track court to complete the
trial in the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder of the 23-year-old
paramedical student — four convicts were sentenced to death.
But while the wheels of justice moved swiftly amid widespread outrage over the incident, several similar cases are still waiting in queue in various Delhi courts.
The fast track court was one of the six set up in January 2013 to
hear cases of sexual assaults on women in the wake of the December 16
case. But according to records available till September 2015, there are
162 cases pending in this court alone, including at least 37 that were
referred to it in 2013.
In the national capital, at least 3,500 cases of assault on women and minors are pending in these fast track courts and others designated to hear cases under the Protection Of Child Sexual Offences Act, according to official data from the fast track courts and sources at POCSO courts. Of these, records show, 1,529 are pending in the fast track courts — there are nine such courts now.
The Indian Express focused on three such cases — including one from a fast track court formed after December 16 — to find out what is stalling the pursuit of crimes as horrifying as the one that shocked the nation exactly Dec 16 trial done in record 9 months but wheels of justice stall in other rape cases three years ago.
These include the rape of a 24-year-old woman by members of a local cricket team to the abduction and rape inside a car of a 17-year-old Delhi University student and the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.
7 years later, accused is ‘juvenile’
In 2009, a 24-year-old student was coming back home in Delhi with a male classmate from a mall in Noida’s Sector 38, when they were assaulted by a group of 11 men from a local cricket team, according to police records. They allegedly overpowered the girl’s friend with cricket bats and stumps, and gangraped her, records show.
In 2013, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the Delhi fast track court following a petition from the girl’s friend who was the only eyewitness to the alleged gangrape. He had moved the apex court after being allegedly threatened by the accused, following his testimony in a lower court in which he identified all the 11 men.
The victim, meanwhile, cut short her studies and moved to the UK because of threats from her attackers. While all the accused are on bail, she stills waits for justice.
The reason for delay, records show, is that one of the accused has now moved a plea before the fast track court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
On November 5, the court issued notice to the principal of a high school in Gautam Budh Nagar to appear in person with all the relevant records and depose whether the accused had studied in the school. The court is currently hearing the accused’s plea.
“In the beginning, the delay was caused by UP officials as they would not produce the case property. Now, after so many years, a plea has been moved by one of the accused claiming he was a juvenile at the time. Did the investigation agency not ascertain the age of the accused while filing the charge sheet? This has now further caused a delay in the trial,” said Advocate Shubra Mehndiratta, counsel for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is representing the victim in the case.
9 months of final hearings
On August 2010, a 17-year-old student of Delhi University was allegedly abducted and raped by a 50-year-old businessman inside his car from west Delhi, according to the case file.
The accused, a resident of Ashok Vihar in North Delhi, later allegedly dumped the student in front of her college, records show. They add that the victim was later hospitalised and under medical examination for three days.
In December 2010, a special court framed charges of rape and abduction against the accused. In January 2011, the victim deposed before court. Three months later, the forensic report was filed.
However, the court then took 39 months to record the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses — an average of two and-a-half months per witness. It took another six months to record evidence from the defence. From March this year, the court has been hearing the final arguments in the case.
“This is how system works when the media does not highlight a case. The delay in this case was caused because the court was burdened with other different cases. Second, there was a huge gap between the dates, exemptions were sought, all delaying the trial,” said a prosecutor on the condition of anonymity.
“In the December 16 case, it took nine months to complete the entire trial. Here, the same time has been taken to just hear the final arguments,” added the prosecutor.
‘We have no option but to wait’
In April 2013, the national capital was in uproar again after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl from a slum in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. Police said the minor was kidnapped, starved and brutally tortured for two days.
In over two months, a lower court paved the way for the trial of the two accused on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By June 2014, the court had almost completed recording of the 59 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
But matters stalled as one of the accused had moved an application that April for an ossification test claiming to be a minor. A scientific report proved he was a major, and the court dismissed his application. But five months later, he moved a similar plea by his mother, this time with his school certificate and other documents.
The court is yet to decide on the plea, as the matter is still under investigation.
“Until the time media covered the trial, they was pace in the trial. The medical examination says he is a major. But his lawyers have again moved the same plea. This time it has taken more than a year to just hear the plea. We have no other option, but to wait for justice,” said the victim’s uncle.
The girl, meanwhile, has moved out Delhi. The uncle says she’s studying in first grade and “loves spending time in school”. But the family — her father, the only breadwinner, is a gardener — is still waiting for justice.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/benchmark-trial-done-in-record-9-months-wheels-of-justice-stall-in-other-rape-cases/#sthash.H1ZhPl7V.dpuf
But while the wheels of justice moved swiftly amid widespread outrage over the incident, several similar cases are still waiting in queue in various Delhi courts.
In the national capital, at least 3,500 cases of assault on women and minors are pending in these fast track courts and others designated to hear cases under the Protection Of Child Sexual Offences Act, according to official data from the fast track courts and sources at POCSO courts. Of these, records show, 1,529 are pending in the fast track courts — there are nine such courts now.
The Indian Express focused on three such cases — including one from a fast track court formed after December 16 — to find out what is stalling the pursuit of crimes as horrifying as the one that shocked the nation exactly Dec 16 trial done in record 9 months but wheels of justice stall in other rape cases three years ago.
These include the rape of a 24-year-old woman by members of a local cricket team to the abduction and rape inside a car of a 17-year-old Delhi University student and the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl.
7 years later, accused is ‘juvenile’
In 2009, a 24-year-old student was coming back home in Delhi with a male classmate from a mall in Noida’s Sector 38, when they were assaulted by a group of 11 men from a local cricket team, according to police records. They allegedly overpowered the girl’s friend with cricket bats and stumps, and gangraped her, records show.
In 2013, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the Delhi fast track court following a petition from the girl’s friend who was the only eyewitness to the alleged gangrape. He had moved the apex court after being allegedly threatened by the accused, following his testimony in a lower court in which he identified all the 11 men.
The victim, meanwhile, cut short her studies and moved to the UK because of threats from her attackers. While all the accused are on bail, she stills waits for justice.
The reason for delay, records show, is that one of the accused has now moved a plea before the fast track court claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident.
On November 5, the court issued notice to the principal of a high school in Gautam Budh Nagar to appear in person with all the relevant records and depose whether the accused had studied in the school. The court is currently hearing the accused’s plea.
“In the beginning, the delay was caused by UP officials as they would not produce the case property. Now, after so many years, a plea has been moved by one of the accused claiming he was a juvenile at the time. Did the investigation agency not ascertain the age of the accused while filing the charge sheet? This has now further caused a delay in the trial,” said Advocate Shubra Mehndiratta, counsel for Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), which is representing the victim in the case.
9 months of final hearings
On August 2010, a 17-year-old student of Delhi University was allegedly abducted and raped by a 50-year-old businessman inside his car from west Delhi, according to the case file.
The accused, a resident of Ashok Vihar in North Delhi, later allegedly dumped the student in front of her college, records show. They add that the victim was later hospitalised and under medical examination for three days.
In December 2010, a special court framed charges of rape and abduction against the accused. In January 2011, the victim deposed before court. Three months later, the forensic report was filed.
However, the court then took 39 months to record the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses — an average of two and-a-half months per witness. It took another six months to record evidence from the defence. From March this year, the court has been hearing the final arguments in the case.
“This is how system works when the media does not highlight a case. The delay in this case was caused because the court was burdened with other different cases. Second, there was a huge gap between the dates, exemptions were sought, all delaying the trial,” said a prosecutor on the condition of anonymity.
“In the December 16 case, it took nine months to complete the entire trial. Here, the same time has been taken to just hear the final arguments,” added the prosecutor.
‘We have no option but to wait’
In April 2013, the national capital was in uproar again after the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl from a slum in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. Police said the minor was kidnapped, starved and brutally tortured for two days.
In over two months, a lower court paved the way for the trial of the two accused on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. By June 2014, the court had almost completed recording of the 59 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
But matters stalled as one of the accused had moved an application that April for an ossification test claiming to be a minor. A scientific report proved he was a major, and the court dismissed his application. But five months later, he moved a similar plea by his mother, this time with his school certificate and other documents.
The court is yet to decide on the plea, as the matter is still under investigation.
“Until the time media covered the trial, they was pace in the trial. The medical examination says he is a major. But his lawyers have again moved the same plea. This time it has taken more than a year to just hear the plea. We have no other option, but to wait for justice,” said the victim’s uncle.
The girl, meanwhile, has moved out Delhi. The uncle says she’s studying in first grade and “loves spending time in school”. But the family — her father, the only breadwinner, is a gardener — is still waiting for justice.
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/benchmark-trial-done-in-record-9-months-wheels-of-justice-stall-in-other-rape-cases/#sthash.H1ZhPl7V.dpuf
Sources: - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/benchmark-trial-done-in-record-9-months-wheels-of-justice-stall-in-other-rape-cases/#sthash.H1ZhPl7V.dpuf
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