HC Denies Relief To Kathua Rape & Murder Case Mastermind

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a plea seeking suspension of sentence by a convict in the 2018 Kathua rape and murder case, holding that the applicant does not deserve such a concession at this stage.

A division bench of Justices Gurvinder Singh Gill and Ramesh Kumari passed the order on March 6, declining interim relief while directing that the main appeal against conviction be listed for final hearing in September. The three-page order was made available earlier this week.

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“Without commenting on the merits of the case, we are of the opinion that it is not a case where the applicant deserves the concession of suspension of sentence at this stage,” the court said, dismissing the application.

The convict, a former caretaker of the village temple where the crime took place in January 2018, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Pathankot sessions court in 2019. Two co-accused were also awarded life terms.

Seeking suspension of the sentence, senior advocate Vinod Ghai argued that despite the examination of 114 prosecution witnesses, no concrete evidence was brought on record to establish his involvement. He also submitted that the convict had already undergone more than eight years in custody and deserved interim relief.

Opposing the plea, senior advocate R S Cheema, appearing for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, argued that the evidence and testimonies on record clearly established the accused's complicity. He submitted that once guilt has been established by the trial court, the presumption of innocence no longer applies, and the convict does not deserve to be released on bail.

Advocates Mandeep Singh Basra and Anupinder Brar represented the victim's family.

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According to the chargesheet filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Crime Branch in April 2018, the eight-year-old nomadic girl was abducted on January 10, kept sedated inside the temple premises for several days, and repeatedly assaulted before being killed.

The case had sparked nationwide outrage, prompting the Supreme Court to transfer the trial from Jammu and Kashmir to Pathankot and direct day-to-day proceedings.

In its 2019 verdict, the trial court described the crime as“devilish and monstrous,” carried out in a“shameful, inhumane and barbaric manner,” and convicted multiple accused, including three police personnel for destruction of evidence, while acquitting one of the accused. The High Court has now fixed the appeal for final hearing later this year, noting that the convict has already spent a substantial period in custody.

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