Gangrape case: SC turns down plea to shift trial out of Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 17: The

today turned down the plea of a December 16 gangrape accused to shift the trial outside Delhi but it agreed to hear his plea for moving him out of Tihar jail for allegedly being tortured there.

"We are issuing notice on the limited prayer of shifting him to another jail," a bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir said.

The court passed the order on a plea filed by Mukesh submitting that he is being tortured in the jail and fair trial is not possible in the capital.

Mukesh, who has been charged with murder, gangrape and unnatural offences, submitted in his petition that he has been falsely implicated in the case. He filed the petition through his advocate M L Sharma.

There are five accused in the case including a juvenile accused. Besides Mukesh, the other accused Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur-- have been charged with the offences of murder, gangrape, attempt to murder, kidnapping, unnatural offences, dacoity, hurting in committing robbery, destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy and common intention under the IPC. One of the accused Ram Singh committed suicide in jail.

A 23-year-old medical student was gangraped by six persons who threw her and her male friend out of a moving bus. She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.

PTI