NEW DELHI ?Vinay Sharma, one of the six defendants in the Delhi gang rape case, has asked the court to let him take a written selection exam for the Indian Air Force on Sunday, as he still hopes to join the military branch?s clerical department.
?I have already applied for a two-day interim bail for my client to write the exam,? A. P. Singh, Mr. Sharma?s lawyer, said in a telephone interview. ?He has got an admit card for the test, and I am confident that the judge will allow him bail. I believe in education for all.?
But does Mr. Sharma qualify?
When India Ink checked the air force Web site, it clearly said that a prospective candidate ?should not have been arrested, convicted or prosecuted on criminal charges.?
Wing Cmdr. Gerard Galway, the public relations officer for the Indian Air Force, said that because Mr. Sharma applied for the job well before he was arrested, he was not technically breaking any rules.
?He will be appointed for the job only if all the charges against him are quashed and if a full police verification gives him a clean chit,? the wing commander said.
Mr. Sharma, four other men and one juvenile are facing murder and robbery charges in the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in December. Mr. Sharma had applied for the air force C-grade clerical post last year before the crime occurred.
On Monday, Mr. Sharma petitioned the judge overseeing the trial, Yogesh Khanna, for a nutritious diet that included fruit and milk to help him ?study well.? He has also asked for newspapers and magazines as he expects the exam to contain general knowledge questions.
The judge responded to the application by asking the authorities at the Tihar Jail, where the defendants are being held, for their input on the request. Sunil Gupta, the spokesman for the jail, said he had no knowledge of any such request.
Last week, jail authorities accepted Mr. Sharma?s request for a tutor to help him prepare for the exam, Firstpost reported.
?Under both international and domestic law, a person is considered innocent until he is convicted for a crime,? said Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director for Human Rights Watch. ?Vinay Sharma is still on trial, but he will be disqualified from joining the Indian Air Force, even if he clears the exam, if he is found guilty.?
Meanwhile, on Friday, Mr. Sharma?s lawyer said his client had been assaulted inside the jail. ?His right hand has been fractured, and it has been done maliciously by the attackers keeping in mind his intention to write the exam on Sunday,? Mr. Singh said.
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