Following the conviction of all four accused in the December 16 gangrape case by the fast-track court here, the defence counsels said they would challenge the judgment in the high court.
Advocate A.P. Singh, defence counsel of Vinay and Akshay said that he has not lost the case yet and will appeal before the Delhi high court as his clients are “fit for acquittal”. Further, he accused the court of pronouncing his clients guilty by coming under political pressure.
“I will challenge the judgment in the high court because this case is fit for acquittal but the court has convicted them by coming under political pressure. As the elections are coming up and they have made this case a rallying point as there is nothing else to show to the people. The CBI and CFSL have planted the DNA evidence. They are trying to woo voters ahead of the upcoming elections,” said advocate A.P. Singh.
Defence Counsel V.K. Anand said, “I will argue for a lighter sentence for Mukesh because he admitted of only driving the bus and not any of the crime for which he has been convicted. I will approach high court to appeal on the charges under which he has been convicted along with the other accused.”
The fifth convict Ram Singh had committed suicide in Tihar Jail in March while the sixth convict, a juvenile at the time of the incident, has been sentenced to a maximum of three years in a reformation home.
Convicting all the four accused, additional session judge Yogesh Khanna in his 237-page judgment said, “I convict all of the accused. They have been found guilty of gangrape, unnatural offences, destruction of evidence ... and for committing the murder of the helpless victim.”