News : Rape Convict Cleared The Civil Services Examination

A Rape Convict who Cleared the Civil Services Examination while serving his sentence, has won partial relief from the Delhi High Court
on Tuesday, which said he had "redeemed himself in jail'' by qualifying for the top job.

A division bench comprising Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Aruna Suresh refused to acquit Ashok Rai alias Amit and said he will continue to remain a convict for the crime of raping one Sushmita (name changed), who committed suicide in 2003.

Rai will now be released from jail as he has already been behind bars for a period of five years and six months, with HC seeing this incarceration as "meeting the ends of justice''

The limited relief for Rai came in the form of HC setting aside his conviction under section 306 (abetment to suicide) after both judges concluded he was only guilty of obtaining her consent for sex on the "false promise of marriage'' (which constitutes rape), but didn't push her to end her life.

"At the age of 21, Sushmita was mature enough to understand the moral worth of her acts. She was conscious that by having repeated sex with Rai she could become pregnant and hence he had told her to take contraceptive tablets,'' HC observed, saying there is "some participative act committed by Sushmita.'' Therefore her contention in her suicide note blaming Rai for her death didn't hold, the court added.

Rai used to take chemistry tuitions and started giving extra classes to Sushmita in 2003. According to her suicide note, the tutor drugged her in one of the coaching sessions and then induced her into having sex with him. Later they regularly had sex as Rai promised the duo will soon tie the knot. Sushmita maintained it was when Rai asked her to take contraceptive tablets that she sensed she was being "used'', but felt trapped as she was madly in love with him.

Things worsened when Rai allegedly asked her to have sex with a third person from whom he wanted a favour. However, HC found no evidence to susbtantiate this allegation of Sushmita that she actually had sex with a third person.

"The suicide note has to be read as a whole. Emotions of the deceased had to be segregated vis-a-vis her statement of fact noted in suicide note,'' HC said, agreeing with the prosecution that Rai induced Sushmita into having sex with him on the false assurance of marriage, but disregarding that this drove her to commit suicide.

Courtesy : Timesofindia.indiatimes.com