’Amanat’ case: court upholds decision on closed door pre-trial hearings

mangaloretoday.com/ NDTV

New Delhi, Jan 9, 2012:  A Delhi court has agreed that the media cannot attend the pre-trial hearings for the five men accused of raping and murdering a student on a moving Delhi bus. The judge handling the case currently will indicate what sections of the hearing can be reported.

The decision to hold in-camera proceedings was taken earlier this week by magistrate Namrita Aggarwal on the day when the men were first brought to court.

  The public prosecutor has said that their safety is at risk. They were kept waiting in a police cell at the court complex for several hours; the tiny court-room, which can seat 30, was packed with more than 150 people till Ms Aggarwal ordered anyone not directly connected to the case to leave.

A group of lawyers had challenged her decision to ban the media from the court-room. Their appeal has been rejected today.

The next hearing in Judge Aggarwal’s court is tomorrow. The case will eventually be tried by a fast-track court inaugurated last week specifically to expedite cases of crimes against women. The fast-track court’s judge will decide if the trial there should also be held behind closed doors.

Three of the men accused of the crime that stunned India with its savagery have agreed to be represented by ML Sharma, an advocate who volunteered to defend them, provoking criticism from other advocates. The Saket Bar Association has refused to represent the accused.

Mr Sharma said that Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, and Akshay Thakur will plead not guilty to all the charges against them.

On December 16, a physiotherapy student and her boyfriend boarded a bus at night after watching a movie at a South Delhi mall. The six men, who were already on the bus including the driver, were allegedly drunk. They had taken a school bus out for what the police described as "a joyride." They sexually harassed Amanat (NOT her real name) and then hit her boyfriend and her viciously with an iron rod.

After that, they took turns raping her before throwing the couple onto the road. The police in its chargesheet against the five accused has said they also tried to drive over the couple, but Amanat’s boyfriend, a software engineer, managed to push her out of the way.

The sixth man on the bus is a juvenile and will be tried separately. The Juvenile Justice Board earlier this week said it was not satisfied with school documents presented to bolster his claim that he is 17.

 

Courtesy: NDTV