Jindal Gang Rape: Two accused move Supreme Court challenging conviction; apex court denies interim bail

Two accused persons in the Jindal Law School gang rape case have moved the Supreme Court challenging their conviction and 20-year jail term being upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court..A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Ahsanuddin Amanullah on Monday rejected the appellant's applications for interim bail since they had not served even half their sentence as on date.Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the two convicts Hardik Sikri and Karan Chhabra respectively, said that the offence of gang rape was not made out.The Court listed the matter for hearing on September 13..The accused were booked for offences under Sections 376D (Rape), 376(2)(n) (repeatedly raping same woman), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 292 (circulating obscene material), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 67 A of the Information Technology Act, which penalises publishing or transmitting any obscene material online. As per the prosecution case, the survivor had met the prime accused Hardik in 2013 and became friends.Later, Hardik forced himself on her and this started a series of abusive acts and threats. He obtained her nude pictures and threatened to make the same viral unless she submitted to his demands..The case grabbed eyeballs in September 2017 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court had granted bail to three accused in a "controversial order" that had cast aspersions on the character of the survivor.The High Court had noted that that the survivor was a habitual smoker and consumed alcohol, and that condoms were found from her room. The Supreme Court had later stayed that order. The two accused were later convicted by the trial court and handed down 20 years in jail.The Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 30 last year, affirmed the conviction and sentence, noting that the survivor, a classmate of the convicts, was denied basic dignity and compassion by them.