Delhi court orders forensic test of Unnao gang rape victim's voice sample

A Delhi court on Tuesday allowed an application seeking forensic examination of the Unnao rape victim's voice sample in the case concerned with her gang rape in June 2017 when she was a minor. .Special Judge (PC Act) Murari Prasad Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts permitted the collection of the woman’s voice sample and directed that it be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for comparison with audio and video recordings that already form part of the case record.The order was passed today on an application filed by accused Shubham Singh. This case is different from the sexual assault on the same woman by former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. It is alleged that the gang-rape was committed on the survivor a week after Sengar raped her.Shubham Singh is the son of Shashi Singh, allegedly a close aide of Sengar. .Singh’s lawyers had argued that the prosecutrix had denied that the voice in the recorded conversations belonged to her, despite the recordings being relied upon during the trial. They contended that the disputed recordings allegedly contain statements in which the prosecutrix admitted that she had left her house voluntarily. It was submitted that scientific voice spectrographic analysis was essential to test the credibility of the prosecutrix and the recordings could have potential exculpatory value for the accused..After considering the case, the Court directed that the prosecutrix’s voice sample be collected and forwarded to the CFSL for comparison.It also clarified that the forensic exercise was being permitted only to aid the adjudicatory process and that the evidentiary value of the report would be assessed at an appropriate stage of the trial..Advocates Akhand Pratap Singh, Samridhi Dobhal and Hritwik Maurya appeared for Shubham Singh. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.