India court upholds Nirbhaya death ruling

new delhi — After the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the death sentence to four men in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case, the victim’s mother Asha Devi said she had been vindicated once again and hoped the convicts would be executed soon.

“There is more fight ahead, but we have got justice once again. We hope that the legal formalities are taken care of and the culprits are taken to the gallows as soon as possible,” Asha Devi told reporters here.

The victim’s father said he was happy about justice done to his late daughter.

The convicts still have the option to file a curative petition in the Supreme Court and send mercy petitions to the President of India.

‘Death penalty can’t prevent crimes against women’

After the Supreme Court decided to reaffirm its verdict of upholding the death sentence, Indian chapter of the global rights group, Amnesty International, said on Monday that executions will not help in eradicating violence against women.

“Unfortunately, executions do not eradicate violence against women. There is no evidence to show that the death penalty acts as a deterrent for sexual violence or any other crime,” Asmita Basu, Amnesty International India’s programmes director, said.

“Instead, the government must allocate adequate resources for the effective implementation of laws, improve conviction rates and ensure certainty of justice in all cases.

“Even the Justice (J.S.) Verma Committee, whose recommendations were relied upon to reform laws on sexual assault and rape, had opposed imposing the death penalty in cases of rape,” she said.

Noting that in April this year, the Central government approved an ordinance introducing death penalty for those convicted of raping girls aged 12 or younger, Basu said: “All too often lawmakers in India hold up capital punishment as a symbol of their resolve to tackle crime, and choose to ignore more difficult and effective solutions like improving investigations, prosecutions and support for victims’ families.

“Far-reaching procedural and institutional reforms are the need of the hour.” —