CHANDIGARH: In a setback to former DIG of Border Security Force (BSF) K C Padhi, who was awarded 10-years imprisonment in the infamous 2006 Jammu and Kahsmir sex scandal , the Punjab and Haryana high court has turned down his plea to suspend his sentence handed out in June 2018.Rejecting Padhi’s argument for relief on the grounds that the girl indulged in sex trade, the HC was of the view that the character of the victim is not relevant factor to be taken into consideration.“It is a case of rape committed upon a minor girl and she has been raped by a number of persons holding high positions. It has also been held in various judgments that minor girl can be easily lured into by giving consent for such an act without understanding the implications thereof. Such consent cannot be treated valid as same is without understanding the consequences,” observed Justice Daya Chaudhary in her order released on Thursday.Justice Chaudhary passed these orders while dismissing Padhi’s application seeking directions to suspend his sentence and release him from jail till the pendency of his appeal against the trial court order.His main argument was that the minor in the case had herself voluntarily stated that she indulged in immoral activities and was caught by the police. “She implicated a large number of persons in false cases and had admitted that she was indulging in sex trade. There was no resistance on her part,” Padhi had argued.It was also submitted that the certificate showing the age of the girl was not worth believing as in the same certificate she has been shown to have passed class VIII and promoted in class IX, whereas in that certificate she has been shown to be discharged from the school. He also submitted that the ossification test should have been conducted to determine her age.Padhi also prayed that he was custody since May 30, 2018 and his appeal against conviction may take some time for final disposal.Opposing Padhi’s plea, CBI counsel Sumeet Goel argued that offence committed by the applicant was serious and the custody undergone by him very less. There was no other document of age to be relied upon by the trial court and the school discharge certificate was rightly considered as it was tested by the trial court after lengthy cross-examination, Goel had argued.Hearing both the parties, the HC observed that the present case cannot be considered to be a case of contradiction as the school certificate was produced by the school authorities and a detailed finding has been recorded by relying upon that certificate with regard to the age of the rape survivor.HC was of the view that in case the arguments of learned senior counsel for the applicant was considered, even then the applicant was not entitled for suspension of sentence as he had undergone a very less period of custody.The caseThe scandal had hit headlines after the J&K police discovered two video CDs showing Kashmiri minors being sexually exploited. The case was transferred to CBI in May 2006 after names of two J&K ministers, MLAs and other influential men emerged in the case. The Supreme Court shifted the trial to Chandigarh the same year. In June last year, the CBI court at Chandigarh had sentenced 10-year sentence to Padhi and a former DSP of Jammu and Kashmir police in the case.

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