New Delhi: Delhi Police on Monday opposed in a special court the bail plea of one of the four accused in the December 16 gang-rape case, saying he may abscond and tamper with the evidence if enlarged on bail.
During the day, the start of the proceedings in the case got delayed by an hour as Mukesh, another co-accused and brother of deceased Ram Singh, was rushed to Safdarjung hospital after he complained of chest pain. Later, he appeared before the court after doctors discharged him by opining he had "gastric discomfort".
Special Public Prosecutor Dayan Krishnan, replying to the bail plea of accused Vinay Sharma, said he cannot be granted the relief on grounds of pursuing studies as he will have "enough time" to study in prison and moreover, he may abscond and tamper with the proof in the case.
"Accused (Vinay) in his bail application has mentioned that he is a student of BA and his studies are affected. In this regard, it is submitted that Vinay has enough time to study in judicial custody.
"In view of the above facts, the bail application of Vinay is strongly opposed as the main prosecution witnesses are yet to be examined and if bail is granted, he may jump the bail and tamper with evidence," Krishnan told Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna.
Earlier, Vinay had sought bail on grounds including that he has to attend his ailing mother in a hospital.
The prosecution, in its reply, said Vinay`s mother is not hospitalized and was found in her house and "therefore, it is requested that the bail application of Vinay may kindly be dismissed for the sake of justice."
During the proceedings, M L Sharma, counsel for Mukesh and Akshay Singh, today refused to cross-examine prosecution witnesses saying his clients were not aware of the charges framed against them as the trial is being conducted in English.
"My clients do not understand English", he said, adding the charge sheet be made available in Hindi and the proceedings be also conducted in the same language.
The special prosecutor, however, asked the judge to proceed with the recording of witnesses` statements.
Till date, 63 prosecution witnesses have already deposed and if the defence lawyer is trying to recall them then he is "just trying" to delay the proceedings, he said.
The judge will tomorrow decide Sharma`s plea seeking change of language of the trial.
Initially five adult accused in the case were facing trial for allegedly gangraping and assaulting a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus here on the night of December 16, 2012.
With the proceedings against the main accused Ram Singh having abated after his death on March 11, the remaining four adult accused Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan Gupta are facing trial in the case for rape and murder of the girl.
The sixth accused in the case is a juvenile, who is facing proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board.
The girl had died on December 29, 2012 in a Singapore hospital due to the grievous injuries she suffered when she was brutally assaulted by the six accused.
PTI
