Srinagar, March 2, KDC: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh at Srinagar has temporarily suspended the sentence and granted bail to a man convicted in a kidnapping and rape case.
The convict, Amir Ashraf Zargar, who was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and fines by the Principal Sessions Judge, Ganderbal, had filed an appeal challenging the trial court’s verdict.
A single bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar, according to Srinagar-based news gathering agency Kashmir Dot Com, while admitting the appeal for hearing, noted that the prosecutrix had turned hostile during the trial and did not support the prosecution’s version. In her statement, she had stated that she was forcibly taken by the convict but clarified that “during the period she was with the appellant, he did not indulge in any activity with her because of strike.”
The convict’s counsel, Advocate Shuja Ul Haq, argued that the trial court had failed to appreciate the evidence properly and that “at best it can be a case of kidnapping, but in no eventuality it can be a case of rape.”
The High Court found merit in this contention, observing that “the trial Court has landed itself into error by convicting the appellant for the offence of rape.”
Justice Sanjay Dhar suspended the sentence till the disposal of main appeal and granted bail, directing the convict to furnish a personal bond of Rs. 50,000 and a surety of the same amount. He was also ordered to appear before the court on every hearing date and not to leave the territorial jurisdiction of Jammu and Kashmir without prior permission.
The final hearing of the appeal is scheduled for April 24, 2025. (KDC)
