Delhi gang-rape: Apex court stays HC order for using TV interview as evidence

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Delhi High Court's order which had allowed the plea of December 16 gang-rape accused to use as evidence a CD containing the interview of the victim's male friend given to a news channel.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir stayed the March 7 order after Delhi Police submitted that the TV interview is per se inadmissible.

The high court had allowed the plea of accused Ram Singh, who allegedly committed suicide in Tihar jail recently, and his brother Mukesh and had set aside the trial court's order by which they were not allowed to exhibit the CD of the interview telecast on January 4, as a piece of evidence.

On December 16, the 23-year-old victim was brutally gang-raped and assaulted in a moving bus in south Delhi. She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.

Ram Singh's brother Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Singh are the adult accused facing trial. The sixth accused, who has been declared as a juvenile, is facing trial before the Juvenile Justice Board.

The trial court had on February 2 framed charges against the five accused under various sections of the IPC for offences which include gangrape, murder, attempt to murder, unnatural offences, dacoity, conspiracy and kidnapping.