The Supreme Court has refused to grant any relief to a judge who was forced to take compulsory retirement for taking a lenient approach towards a rape accused by releasing him on probation.

Observing that the law does not permit to release a rape accused on probation, a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan dismissed the petition filed by a former judge of Etawah district in Uttar Pradesh.

The judge, Raj Kumar Sharma, had released a rape accused on probation in 1998 contrary to the provision of Probation of Offenders Act, which does not allow an accused to be released on probation where the punishment of the offence committed by him is either life imprisonment or death sentence.

Minor offender

Sharma was asked to step down by the Uttar Pradesh government in April 2005 on the recommendation of the Allahabad High Court, which found him guilty after conducting an inquiry.

The counsel appearing on behalf of Sharma contended that a lenient approach was taken towards the accused because he was a minor when the offence was committed.  Not impressed by his contention, the Apex court refused to give respite to the former judge.