Gurdev Singh Dhillon not acquitted though.
By The American Bazaar Staff
NEW YORK: The British Columbia Court of Appeal has thrown out the sexual conviction charge against Gurdev Singh Dhillon, who spent four years in prison, and upon release in 2008, was deported to India. The court, however, despite new DNA surfaced that exonerated Dhillon, didn’t acquit him, perpetuating the miscarriage of justice.
Convicted in October 2005 of participating in a July 2004 Surrey gang rape at his apartment, Dhillon served four years in prison and on his release in October 2008 was deported to India, reported the Vancouver Sun.
The assault was considered particularly heinous because the woman said she was a lesbian and became pregnant as a result.
DNA evidence from her clothes, which was not disclosed until March 2013, linked two other men to the assault. Dhillon’s DNA was not found and DNA evidence showed none of those charged with the assault fathered the woman’s child.
Police found Dhillon at his apartment hours after the assault, naked and intoxicated.
The Supreme Court of Canada in October 2013 tossed this case back to the Court of Appeal because of fresh evidence and asked it to consider whether a miscarriage of justice had occurred.
Now, it’s been made clear that Dhillon was innocent, but Justice Anne MacKenzie maintained, the prosecution’s failure did not constitute “a marked and unacceptable departure from the reasonable standards expected of the Crown.”
She also rejected Dhillon’s request for reimbursement of the expenses he incurred establishing his wrongful conviction.
“The Crown is ‘not held to a standard of perfection, and costs awards will not flow from every failure to disclose in a timely fashion.’” Justice MacKenzie explained. “For costs to be awarded, there must be some extraordinary event or misconduct on behalf of the Crown. … While the case demonstrates a substantial lack of attention by the Crown, there is no evidence of bad faith or malice.”
She wrote: “While I agree there has been a miscarriage of justice, I do not find an acquittal to be the appropriate remedy,” supported by Justices Ed Chiasson and Nicole Garson.
“The test for an acquittal is strict: the court must be satisfied that no jury acting reasonably could convict on the evidence.”
Although the province’s high bench refused to exonerate Dhillon Friday, his lawyer Paul Briggs said the 37-year-old was pleased he was getting a chance to return to Canada and possibly get his mill job back. He will probably launch a civil suit against police and prosecutors, Briggs added.
Briggs said Dhillon, who now is a farm worker in Punjab, has remarried — his first wife divorced him after his conviction — and the couple have a young son.