Cuttack: The Orissa High Court
on Friday rejected the plea of the nun from Kandhamal who had
sought the intervention of the HC to examine the magistrate
who had conducted the test identification (TI) parade in
Choudwar jail to identify the accused in the sensation rape
case of 2008.
The nun had raised objections to the report of the
magistrate who conducted the TI parade of the nun at Choudwar
jail in 2009. While the nun claimed that she had identified
five of the accused in the TI parade, the magistrate had
reported that the victim was able to identify only two accused
persons.
A single-judge bench of Justice CR Dash on the day
rejected the plea of the nun and dismissed her petition. With
this order of the HC, the stay on the trial court proceedings
which was imposed in June last year is now vacated.
Sources said Cuttack district sessions court which was
holding trial in the sensational rape case that allegedly took
place during the communal riot in Kandhamal, would now go
ahead with the proceedings.
The HC, however, gave a liberty to the nun allowing
her to raise the issue of the magistrate during the trial
again. It may be noted here that the trial court had earlier
refused to interfere in the TI parade magistrate issue
following which the nun had approached the HC.
The Catholic Church nun rape case trial was taken up
in Cuttack court since August 2010 after it was transferred
here from Phulbani district court following the orders of
Orissa High Court.
Ever since Cuttack court began trial, cross
examination and deposition of as many as 28 prosecution
witnesses were over. However, the cross examination of defence
witnesses had not began yet.
PTI
