Give us chance to reform: Convicts

THE CONVICTS URGED THE BENCH TO COMMUTE THE DEATH PENALTY AS IT WAS “COLDBLOODED KILLING FOR JUSTICE”

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court reserved on Friday its verdict on a plea by two convicts seeking a review of a 2017 verdict that upheld the death penalty given to them in the December 16, 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case.

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra heard arguments on the behalf of the convicts, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta.

They urged the bench to commute the death penalty as it was “cold-blooded killing in the name of justice”. Their lawyer, AP Singh, submitted that they were “not habitual offenders and have no criminal records, so the court must allow them to be reformed”.

Singh argued that the death penalty had been abolished in several other countries. “Execution kills criminals and not the crime,” he argued, claiming that there were discrepancies in the dying statements recorded by the victim.

The arguments were rebutted by the counsel for Delhi government, senior advocate Sidharth Luthara, who said there was enough evidence against the convicts.

The brutal gang rape and killing of the 23-year-old medical student in a moving bus had provoked rage and shock across India and led to major changes in the law meant to punish rape convicts.

The Supreme Court had on May 5, 2017 upheld the verdict of the Delhi high court and the trial court awarding capital punishment to four convicts -- Mukesh, Pawan Gupta , Vinay Sharma, and Akshay Kumar Singh

The Supreme Court has already reserved its verdict on a review petition filed by Mukesh. Another accused in the case, Ram Singh, had allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail, while a convicted j uvenile served a three-year term in a reform home.