Delhi gangrape: Order reserved on using TV interview of victim's friend as evidence

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on a plea seeking to use as evidence the TV interview of the Dec 16, 2012 gang-rape victim's friend, the sole witness to the ghastly incident.

Justice GP Mittal reserved the order after the counsels of Delhi Police and the accused completed their arguments on the plea of Ram Singh, one of the accused in the case.

Advocate VK Anand, appearing for Ram Singh, moved the high court after the fast-track court trying the case dismissed his plea for using a CD of the victim's friend's interview with a news channel to be brought on record and examined as crucial evidence.

"The trial judge passed the impugned order and did not allow the applicant (Ram Singh) to exhibit, place on record and to play the impugned interview on the ground of illegal evidence," Anand said.

Anand said that in the trial court the counsels of accused could not cross-examine the witness because they wanted the CD of the interview to be put on record.

However, Dayan Krishnan appearing for Delhi Police, objected the use of CD carrying interview to use as evidence told the court that the "interview is illegal" as court had banned the media coverage.

"The CD can not be used as evidence on the ground that it has been prepared in violation of a CrPC provision that restrains media coverage of the trial and inquiry proceedings related to a rape case," Krishnan added.

He added that the trial court had ordered in-camera trial of the case and in that case media interview of any nature us completely bar. "There could not be any publication about the case without court's permission," he said.

He told that during the trial of the case media interview would be interference in administration of justice.

Krishnan further said that "any statement even if in writing, not recorded before the police should not be considered as evidence".

The youth is a software engineer and the main witness in the case in which a 23-year-old woman was brutally tortured and gang-raped in a moving bus on Dec 16, 2012.