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IAF seeks to take over rape case against officer
The lawyer of the accused Indian Air Force officer has contented that his trial should happen before the air force authorities and local courts and police have no jurisdiction in the matter
A Tamil Nadu court will on Thursday decide whether to hand over a rape accused officer to the Indian Air Force (IAF) or allow the local police to continue investigating the matter. A colleague has accused flight lieutenant Amitesh Harmukh, 29, of raping her on the campus of Coimbatore’s Air Force Administrative College on September 10. The local police arrested Harmukh and the court on Monday extended his judicial custody until Thursday.
Harmukh’s lawyer, N Sundaravadivelu, argued since the accused and the complainant belong to the IAF, they are subject to the special Air Force Act, which is beyond the purview of the Code of Criminal Procedure. “...the Indian Penal Code... will be applied by the court-martial authorities. There is a transgression by the civil police of Coimbatore; they have no right to investigate this matter. So, the judiciary...subordinate courts also have no jurisdiction. This has to be investigated only by the air force authorities by a court of inquiry and court-martial.”
He said the trial should happen before the air force authorities because that is the right forum. “I cannot be defending my client in the wrong forum.”
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The IAF filed a petition in the court seeking the transfer of the case to it for the probe and a court-martial. “We have cited all rules and procedures for the flight lieutenant to be handed over to us,” said an IAF spokesperson.
The police have maintained that the complainant was unhappy with the college’s inquiry and that is why she approached Coimbatore commissioner Deepak M Damor on September 20. Based on her complaint, a police station for women carried out preliminary inquiries, registered a case, and arrested Harmukh on Saturday. “Police have jurisdiction all over,” said a police officer in Coimbatore. “She was assaulted...and they (college) initiated action. But she was not happy with the nature of the action. So, she approached the local police.”
