NIRBHAYA RAPISTS TO HANG

Supreme Court okays death sentence given to all 4 convicts

Five years after a 23-year-old paramedical student was brutally raped in Delhi by six men in a moving bus that ultimately led to her death, the Supreme Court on Friday brought some sort of closure to the case by confirming the death sentence awarded to four of them — one was tried under juvenile laws and another committed suicide in jail — by the trial court and confirmed later by the high court.

While confirming the capital punishment given to all four convicts, the court said that the brutal manner in which the girl was raped and killed warrants death sentence. “The incident shook the conscience of humanity...If ever there was a case for hanging, this was it,” the judges observed. Describing the crime as “rarest of rare” case, the apex court said: “We are compelled to give extreme punishment to ensure justice...This is a crime which has shocked the collective consciousness of the society.”

I am happy that the Supreme court has reconfirmed the death sentence of these rapists. It was truly a heinous crime — Maneka Gandhi, Union minister

In principle I am against death penalty, but this was such a heinous crime that strictest punishment was needed — Brinda Karat, CPM leader

Justice not done, we will file review petition after reading the order. You can’t hang somebody for setting an example to society — AP Singh, Convicts’ lawyer

I am happy the Supreme Court has heard our voice and understood the suffering Nirbhaya underwent — Nirbhaya’s father

There were two judgments between the three judges, but both concurred in dismissing the appeals filed by Akshay, Pawan, Mukesh and Vinay Sharma challenging March 2014 verdict of Delhi HC confirming the death sentence by a trial court in 2013. They were all in their 20s at the time of the crime. Their lawyer A.P. Singh said they would file a review petition.

The court said the circumstances were too harsh to show any mercy as the convicts even tried to run over the victim using their bus. The defence had asked for mercy on the basis of the “'poor' background” of the four and not to deprive their families of livelihood by hanging them. Nirbhaya’s – as the girl later came to be known in the country — mother and father were among those in the packed courtroom who broke into clapping as the judges read out the verdict.

The matter was heard by the apex court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra and comprising Justices R. Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan. Justice Banumathi.