All About IIT-Guwahati Rape Case Bail Hearing Where Accused Was Called An "Asset” To State

Guwahati IIT rape case: A student of Indian Institutes of Technology-Guwahati, who stands accused of raping a fellow student, has been granted bail by the Guwahati High Court on the ground that he is "talented" and a future asset to the state. Hearing a bail application by the accused, who is a BTech student, the court said there is a clear prima facie case as alleged against the accused based on all the evidence, however, the investigation in the case is completed and thus it was not necessary to keep the accused in custody.

The court in its order on August 13 noted that both the accused and the survivor are young and "being talented students pursuing technical courses at the IIT, Guwahati", a continuation of detention of the accused, if charges are framed, may not be necessary, the order said.

Here are ten things to know about the Guwahati IIT rape case:

1. The complainant had accused an IIT-Guwahati student of rape on March 28, 2021. The police on April 3 had then arrested the 21-year-old student for allegedly “sexually assaulting” a female student of the institute. He was then suspended by the IIT authorities.

2. The accused has been charged for the offence under Section 376 (rape)/328 (causing hurt by means of poison)/307 (attempt to murder)/120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

3. He has now been granted bail in such a serious offence, but it is the reason given that has left social media astound.

4. The bench of Justice Ajit Borthakur heard the counsel for both sides and reviewed reference to the FIR, medical report and statements under Sections 161 and 164 CrPC, the contents of the charge-sheet, the fact finding committee report. After this, in its order, the Judge noted that it is a prima facie case as alleged against the accused. However, it also said that both the girl and the boy are talented students as they are pursuing technical courses at the institute, TOI reported.

5. The complainant is 19 years old and comes from a different state.

6. After examining the list of witnesses, cited in the chargesheet, the Court found that there is "no possibility of the accused tampering with their evidence or influencing them directly or indirectly, if released on bail".

7. Concluding the hearing, the high court granted bail to the accused.

8. The court asked the accused to pay Rs 30,000 bond along with two sureties. More on the case here.

8. Appearing on behalf of the survivor, advocate Sumitra Sarma and additional public prosecuter D Das, strongly argued that granting bail to the accused in such a serious offence would be a mistake.

9. On the night of March 28, the 21-year-old had allegedly raped the girl, who was rescued the next day and admitted to the hospital.

10.In an interview, the teenage girl had said all she wanted was justice and hoped that all who were found guilty be punished without any delay.