No rethink on death penalty for Nirbhaya killers, says SC
Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: 10.07.2018
The convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rapemurder case face the gallows with the Supreme Court saying on Monday that it found no new grounds for a rethink on its May 2017 decision to award death to the four for the barbaric assault on a 23-year-old paramedic that triggered an outpouring of outrage across the nation.
The convicts have the option of seeking presidential commutation of their death sentences which seems unlikely given the severity of the crime and the views of the trial court, high court and the Supreme Court. One of the accused, Ram Singh, committed suicide during the trial. A juvenile in conflict with the law was tried by a special court and has already served three years in a reform home.
A Delhi trial court had awarded the death penalty to Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay and Akshay. This was upheld by the Delhi high court and later by the apex court.
No merit in review petitions: SC bench
In December last year, the SC reserved its verdict on petitions by Mukesh, Vinay and Pawan seeking a review of the SC decision.
On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice R Banumathi and Justice Ashok Bhushan said the SC had heard appeals filed by the accused against the Delhi HC verdict for 38 days, giving them ample opportunity to raise all possible grounds in their defence, which were minutely considered by the apex court before delivering its verdict on May 5 last year.
“In these review petitions, no ground has been made out which may furnish any ground to review the judgment, We, thus, find no merit in these review petitions and consequently, the review petitions are dismissed,” said Justice Bhushan, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench.
Referring to the convicts’ questioning conclusions of the scientific investigation by the Delhi police, Justice Bhushan said, “Matching of DNA profile developed from the articles seized from the bus like ‘hair’ and the bloodstained seat cover of the bus and the bunch of hair recovered from the floor of the bus with the DNA profile of the victim was held to be unimpeachable evidence establishing the involvement of the bus in the commission of the offence.
“The oral and scientific evidence has been elaborately considered by this court in upholding the findings of the high court as to the involvement of the bus. The petitioner/accused cannot re-agitate the same point again.” It cited the victim’s dying declaration which described the incident and specified the role of each accused, the rape committed by a number of persons and the insertion of an iron rod in her private parts.
On May 5, the same bench of Justice Misra, Justice Banumathi and Justice Bhushan had upheld the Delhi HC decision to award the four convicts capital punishment.
SEEKING JUSTICE
Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: 10.07.2018
The convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rapemurder case face the gallows with the Supreme Court saying on Monday that it found no new grounds for a rethink on its May 2017 decision to award death to the four for the barbaric assault on a 23-year-old paramedic that triggered an outpouring of outrage across the nation.
The convicts have the option of seeking presidential commutation of their death sentences which seems unlikely given the severity of the crime and the views of the trial court, high court and the Supreme Court. One of the accused, Ram Singh, committed suicide during the trial. A juvenile in conflict with the law was tried by a special court and has already served three years in a reform home.
A Delhi trial court had awarded the death penalty to Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay and Akshay. This was upheld by the Delhi high court and later by the apex court.
No merit in review petitions: SC bench
In December last year, the SC reserved its verdict on petitions by Mukesh, Vinay and Pawan seeking a review of the SC decision.
On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice R Banumathi and Justice Ashok Bhushan said the SC had heard appeals filed by the accused against the Delhi HC verdict for 38 days, giving them ample opportunity to raise all possible grounds in their defence, which were minutely considered by the apex court before delivering its verdict on May 5 last year.
“In these review petitions, no ground has been made out which may furnish any ground to review the judgment, We, thus, find no merit in these review petitions and consequently, the review petitions are dismissed,” said Justice Bhushan, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench.
Referring to the convicts’ questioning conclusions of the scientific investigation by the Delhi police, Justice Bhushan said, “Matching of DNA profile developed from the articles seized from the bus like ‘hair’ and the bloodstained seat cover of the bus and the bunch of hair recovered from the floor of the bus with the DNA profile of the victim was held to be unimpeachable evidence establishing the involvement of the bus in the commission of the offence.
“The oral and scientific evidence has been elaborately considered by this court in upholding the findings of the high court as to the involvement of the bus. The petitioner/accused cannot re-agitate the same point again.” It cited the victim’s dying declaration which described the incident and specified the role of each accused, the rape committed by a number of persons and the insertion of an iron rod in her private parts.
On May 5, the same bench of Justice Misra, Justice Banumathi and Justice Bhushan had upheld the Delhi HC decision to award the four convicts capital punishment.
SEEKING JUSTICE
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