2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case: SC upholds death sentence for all four convicts

By Online Desk  |   Published: 05th May 2017 03:15 PM  |  

Last Updated: 05th May 2017 03:32 PM 

Nirbhaya's Mother Asha Devi. | PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of the four convicted in the gruesome December 16 Nirbhaya gang rape on Friday.

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

The convicts - Akshay, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh - challenged the Delhi High Court order which had sentenced them to the gallows.

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"Victim's dying declaration is consistent; it has been proved beyond doubt and corroborated", said the apex court while confirming the trial court and Delhi High Court's findings against the accused.

"Nature and manner of the crime devastated social trust, falls in 'rarest of rare' category warranting death penalty", added the three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra,  which wrote two separate but concurring judgements in the case.

Earlier, the trial court also had sentenced all four convicts to death penalty.

The court also said that the scientific evidence like DNA profiling of both the victim and accused proves to the hilt about their presence at the crime spot. they also held the view that the testimony of victim's friend who was with her in bus and the first prosecution witness was unimpeccable and relied upon.

Saying that the accused had treated the victim as an object of enjoyment, with single purpose of ravishing her, the court observed that their background age, no criminal record, good behaviour in prison cannot outweigh aggravating circumstances.

"A judgement like this was necessary to send a stern message to people who commit such henious crimes," Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi  said, while reacting on the verdict. 

"Aggravating circumstances outweigh mitigating circumstances in the case; offence created 'tsunami of shock' ", said the court.

In December, 2012, six people gang raped a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in a moving bus. The woman succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.