New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Thursday indicated that two main convicts in the rape case involving former students of Sonepat's OP Jindal Global University will have to be taken back into custody.
The case has received wide attention after the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in its bail order, had questioned the girl's reliability while repeatedly making references to her "promiscuity" and "sexual encounters".
A bench headed by Justice SA Bobde wondered how can men, who were in custody during the trial, be released after they were convicted of rape and sentenced to 20 years in jail each.
"It is one of those rare cases where these men were behind the bar when the trial was on but they were released after they were held guilty of the offence. This was the first time they were released. This alone should be ground enough to reconsider the High Court order," said the bench.
When the Court was informed that all the three convicts had been freed, the bench retorted: "How can that be? We will take the main accused back. It cannot be that all of you are free."
The Court fixed the case for on Thursday next week for passing appropriate orders.
The third convict in the case, who was sentenced to seven years in jail for his complicity, however for a reprieve with the bench staying his arrest until next order.
The Court said, "there is a sea of difference what he did and what the other two main accused did."
Two months ago, the bench had stayed the HC order of releasing the three convicts. But nobody was arrested ever since.
The Sonepat court had sentenced Hardik and Karan to 20 years’ imprisonment while Vikas was sentenced to seven years in jail.
Admitting their appeals, HC granted them bail and also stayed the sentence awarded to them.
The HC had then said: "It would be a travesty if these young minds are confined to jail for an inordinate(ly) long period of time which would deprive them of their education, opportunity to redeem themselves and be a part of the society as normal beings.”
The order also made references to the girl's “promiscuity”, “adventurism”, and “experimentation in sexual encounters”.
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