All eyes are now focussed on the verdict to be pronounced by the Cuttack District and Sessions Court on the sensational Kandhamal nun rape case of 2008. Trial in the case began here in August 2010, and after completion of hearing on Tuesday, the court has fixed March 14 to pronounce its judgement.
On the last day of the hearing, the counsels of the accused questioned the identity of the nun and wondered as to how the State Crime Branch police went to New Delhi and recorded the statements of the said nun, whose whereabouts were only known after she appeared in New Delhi to address a Press conference much later after the alleged incident.
The counsels also questioned about the veracity of the statements of the prosecution and alleged that much of it is prevaricated. It was also alleged that the police investigation into the case was not done properly and there are a lot of discrepancies in the investigation.
It may be mentioned that the trial in the case was taken up by the local court after the matter was transferred here from the Phulbani district court by the Odisha High Court. But the proceedings were stalled in January 2012 when the then Cuttack District Judge BK Mishra was elevated to the Bench of the High Court as an Additional Judge.
However, after Shatrughna Pujahari joined as District Judge, the trial resumed and cross-examination and deposition of as many as 28 prosecution witnesses were taken up by the court. But the case did not progress further when the complainant nun approached the Supreme Court seeking to record fresh statements of the magistrate who presided over the TI parade.
As the nun’s plea was pending disposal in the apex court, a stay was granted on the proceedings of the trial court for which the matter did not move further for over a year. In the meantime, the Judge Pujahari was elevated to the Bench of the HC and the matter was only taken up recently after Gyanaranjan Purohit joined as the District Judge.