Rape convict clears UPSC exams

New Delhi, Feb 11: A rape convict, Ashok Rai alias Amit cleared the civil services examination (UPSC) while serving his jail term. With this, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, Feb 10 said that the convict has won partial relief which said he had "redeemed himself in jail'' by qualifying for the top job.

Rai will not be acquitted and will continue to remain a convict for the crime of raping Sushma (name changed), who committed suicide in 2003, said Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Aruna Suresh of the division bench.

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 High Court gave some relief to Rai when it set aside his conviction under 306 (abatement 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, Sushma 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 Sushma.'' Therefore her contention in her suicide note blaming Rai for her death didn't hold, the court added.

maintained it was when Rai took chemistry tuitions and started giving extra classes to Sushma. According to the suicide note, she was dragged into one of the rooms by the tutor and induced her to have sex with him. Later, they had sex regularly as Rai promised the duo will soon tie the knot. SushmaRai 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 substantiate this allegation of Sushma 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 Sushma into having sex with him on the false assurance of marriage, but disregarding that this drove her to commit suicide.

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)