Delhi gangrape: Court rejects plea for polygraph

A special court on Monday dismissed the plea of two December 16 gang rape accused seeking permission to undergo a lie detector test, saying the trial is at its fag end and such a test is a tool of ongoing investigation.

A special court on Monday dismissed the plea of two December 16 gang rape accused seeking permission to undergo a lie detector test, saying the trial is at its fag end and such a test is a tool of ongoing investigation.

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Besides dismissing the plea of accused Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur, Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna also rejected their application to conduct a polygraph test on the victim’s male friend, who was also assaulted along with her in the moving bus.

“It is pertinent to mention that the trial is at its fag end as 77 witnesses have already been examined and few witnesses are only left as per prosecution. Even otherwise a polygraph test, admittedly, is a tool of investigation and its legal position has been settled,” the court said while referring to a Supreme Court judgment.

Vinay and Akshay, who along with four others, allegedly gang raped a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus, had filed the application through their counsel AP Singh saying they are innocent and have been falsely implicated in the case. Their counsel submitted before the court that the victim’s friend needs to undergo a lie detector test as he is hiding the facts.