No mercy; hanging for Dec. 16 rapists upheld
Convicts still have judicial redressal for re-examination
The convicts in the Dec. 16 gangrape and murder case will hang, the Supreme Court said on Monday, reaffirming the death sentence of three of the four death row convicts and holding that “no grounds” have been made out to review the top court’s decision last year to give them capital punishment.
Mukesh, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma, who were sent to the gallows for the chilling crime that sparked a national outrage, had approached the apex court seeking mercy and with a request that their death sentence be reduced to life imprisonment. The fourth convict, Akshay, did not file any review of the May 5, 2017, judgement that had confirmed death sentence awarded to the accused by the Delhi high court. The SC had earlier stayed their execution pending disposal of review petitions.
Dismissing the three convicts’ pleas, a bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said, “There is no new material to review our order. A mere repetition, through different counsel, of old and overruled arguments, a second trip over ineffectually covered ground or minor mistakes of inconsequential import are obviously insufficient.”
“A review of a judgement is a serious step and reluctant resort to… it is proper only where a glaring omission or patent mistake or like grave error has crept in earlier by judicial fallibility,” said Justices R. Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan. However, the convicts still have judicial redressal for a re-examination of the dismissal of their appeals and review pleas by way of a curative petition, which is the last legal remedy left for curing the defects, if any, in a judgment.
The Supreme Court upholding its verdict is a strong message to those who commit such heinous crimes. Our faith in the judiciary has been reinstated. I appeal to the Prime Minister to take concrete steps against atrocities towards young girls and women. — DEC. 16 GANGRAPE VICTIM’S MOTHER
New Delhi, July 9: The parents of the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder victim on Monday said their faith in the judiciary was reinstated and they hoped to get justice after the Supreme Court dismissed the pleas of three of the four convicts in the case, seeking a review of its verdict upholding the death penalty awarded to them.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices R. Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan rejected the review pleas of Mukesh 29, Pawan Gupta, 22, and Vinay Sharma, 23, on Monday, saying no grounds were made out by them for a review of the verdict.
The apex court said the death row convicts failed to point out “error apparent on the face of record” in the judgment.
“The Supreme Court upholding its verdict is a strong message to those who commit such heinous crimes. Our faith in the judiciary has been reinstated. I appeal to the prime minister to take concrete steps against atrocities towards young girls and women,” Asha Devi, the mother of the victim, said.
Residents of the native village of the December 16 rape victim demanded immediate hanging of those convicted of her rape and murder, as a wave of happiness erupted after the Supreme Court’s order.
Union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi also expressed satisfaction at the top court’s decision
“I am satisfied that the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of the December 16 case convicts. Not only this, a Madhya Pradesh court has recently awarded death sentence in a case of rape of a minor girl.
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal also welcomed the development even as she questioned the six-year delay in dispensing justice in the case. She said the DCW would issue a notice to the Delhi Police and the Tihar Jail authorities, asking them to expedite the execution of the convicted rapists.
Hailing the move, CPM leader Brinda Karat said, “We welcome the court’s decision to uphold the guilt of those who had appealed for a review. The apex court's decision is based on the present legal framework, which recommends death penalty in the rarest of rare cases.” She, however, added, “As far as death penalty is concerned, as a matter of principle, we are against it.” Activist Annie Raja also welcomed the apex court's decision to uphold the death penalty of the convicts in the case, even as she wondered whether capital punishment could prevent such crimes.
— PTI