Cops cannot get BA exam schedule for gang rape accused

The Delhi police on Wednesday told a fast track court that they cannot direct IGNOU to provide a copy of the examination schedule for BA first year to one of the accused in the December 16 gang rape case.

Special Public Prosecutor Dayan Krishnan filed a reply on behalf of Delhi police saying "this matter does not relate to police".

The reply from the police came on a plea filed by Vinay Sharma, one of the four accused being tried for gang raping a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus, seeking the schedule of examination.

Vinay's counsel A P Singh had, in his plea before Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna, said the accused had taken admission in first year of BA programme of the Indira Gandhi National Open University in August last year and now needed to appear in the said examination.

In its reply, Krishnan also told the court that the concerned Station House Officer cannot be directed to go to the varsity and collect the schedule as the matter is between the accused and the university.

"How can we go and collect the exam schedule"? Krishnan said, adding the family members have full right to go and collect the exam schedule.

The court had on Tuesday asked the police to file its response to the plea filed by Vinay who had said the university was not giving out the schedule, making it "difficult" for him to prepare for his exams".

Meanwhile, the court also turned down the request of counsel M L Sharma, appearing for Mukesh, seeking exemption from his personal appearance for Thursday.

Sharma moved an exemption application saying he has another important case to appear in and he be allowed the exemption.

The judge, however, said, "I am not concerned with the request... I am not here to make adjournment."

The court also said that earlier also it has directed advocate Sharma and even passed an order that if the witnesses are coming in the case, then the defence counsel will have to cross-examine them.

"You cannot delay the matter like this," the judge said, while directing defence counsel to appear in the court on Thursday on time.

Advocate Sharma also moved an application seeking original Daily Diary register in order to have a look at the initial entries when the December 16 gang rape case was first reported to the police.

"State (police) knowingly and deliberately had not filed on record the true copy or its original copy of the Daily Diary before the court," Sharma said, adding that he suspects the agency has manipulated the same.

After recording Sharma's submissions, the court said the necessary documents are in its custody and hence "there was no point of tampering with the facts."

Initially, five accused in the case were facing trial for allegedly gang-raping and assaulting a girl in a moving bus 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 adults accused Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay Singh 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 trial before the Juvenile Justice Board.