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The five men charged with the brutal rape and murder of the 23-year-old gangrape victim in Delhi will be produced before a court in Delhi on Monday. Ram Singh, Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur are expected to be produced before court today.

However, in an obvious ploy to avoid any harsh punishment for their horrendous role in the December 16 gangrape of a 23-year-old, two of the six accused - fruit-seller Vinay Sharma and gym helper Pawan Gupta - sought to turn approvers in the case .

Sharma and Gupta, besides two other accused, were brought to the court of metropolitan magistrate Jyoti Kler in Delhi on Sunday after the expiry of their judicial custody.

Sharma and Gupta had earlier confessed to their crime and even sought death penalty for their "heinous act".

Delhi Police are not in a mood to let off their quarry easily. Sources told Mail Today that there is no question of any one of the accused being allowed to turn approver in this bestial crime. Delhi Police sources said, "All the accused are equally culpable, even if they volunteer to turn approver we will oppose it vehemently. There is overwhelming and clinching evidence - forensic and otherwise - and there is no way prosecution will agree to this type of a scenario. We will vigorously pursue this case to its logical end to see that justice is meted out."

Legal experts said it was far from actually happening. They said the chances of prosecution falling into this trap are bleak. It’s only a desperate bid to escape punishment by seeking to become witnesses for the state.

According to law, if an accused becomes an approver in a case of dastardly crime , which means helping the probe agency in gathering crucial evidence and helping the prosecution to establish its case. They could get pardoned or get away with a lighter sentence.In this case, five of the six accused have been booked for serious offences including that of murder (302) and murder in dacoity (396) of IPC which carries a maximum of death penalty. Turning approvers in the case could mean escaping death penalty.The case of the sixth accused, said to be a minor, will be heard by Juvenile Justice Board.

Produced in court

Amid high security Sharma and Gupta, prime accused Ram Singh and his brother Mukesh were produced before the metropolitan magistrate inside her chamber after expiry of their 14-day judicial remand. The tight security, presence of many police personnel and Sunday’s biting cold managed to keep the crowds at bay. The judicial custody of all the four accused was extended by 14 days till January 19.

Magistrate Kler, in her order dictated in an open court, refused to decide on the plea of the accused and directed them to move an appropriate application to become witnesses in the case before the court concerned. So, Sharma and Gupta are likely to file an application in this regard before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Namrita Aggarwal on Monday when the magistrate on Monday is likely to provide copies of the chargesheet to the accused and is likely to transfer the case to a Sessions court which will fast track the hearing.

Unlikely plea

Legal experts felt that an accused cannot hope to become a witness especially in a case of brutal crime like this to escape punishment. They added that the scope of accused being allowed to turn approver in this case was most unlikely. Usually in a case where investigators find it difficult to gather evidence, they could ask an accused to become an approver to get crucial evidence and in return the accused could get a lighter sentence or escape punishment, the experts said. "Approvers are made in cases where evidence is lacking but in this case there is no need of an approver. The accused cannot wish to become approvers in order to escape justice. Most likely the application will be dismissed," said Justice SN Dhingra, former judge of the Delhi High Court.

Senior lawyer Aman Lekhi termed the desire of accused persons to turn approver in the case as a legal tactic to ward off harsh punishment. Lekhi explained, "Usually when offences are serious and evidences are not there, probe agency can make an accused to turn approver on the condition of disclosure." Lekhi, however, added that in this case, this situation is non-existent. He said, "Chargesheet has been filed and role of all the accused persons has been defined and delineated. Police claims to have ample of evidence against the accused.The reason for allowing accused to turn witness is unwarranted."

Noted criminal lawyer Majid Memon too voiced similar views saying, "Whether they will be dubbed approver will be a call of the probe agency and the court. In this case where the police have the crucial evidence of victim’s dying declaration and eyewitness’s account, the application is not likely to be allowed."

Meanwhile, all the four accused persons were informed that they can seek legal aid in the case if they have not engaged any counsel.

Refuse legal aid

While Sharma and Gupta refused to take the service of legal aid counsel and expressed their willingness to become state witnesses, Ram Singh and Mukesh sought legal aid counsel for their defence. The magistrate allowed their plea and directed the five accused persons, including Akshay Thakur, to be produced in court on Monday in pursuance of the summons issued against them by metropolitan magistrate Namrita Aggarwal.