The Supreme Court today rejected the mercy petition filed against the death sentence awarded to the four accused convicted in Nirbhaya rape case by a Delhi sessions court, and confirmed by the High Court. The court declared the case as “rarest of rare” – the criteria it had set for death sentences in the country.
“She was reduced to an object for their gross sadistic pleasures. They played with her dignity in a devilish manner,” the court said. On the events of that fateful day, the court said, “Little did she know on that cold winter night that her world would come to a devastating end… Convicts left the victim and her companion for dead, tried to run over them with the bus, looted them and shared the booty.”
Those who will face the gallows are Mukesh (29), Pawan (22), Vinay Sharma (23) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31). One of the accused, Ram Singh, had allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail, while a convicted juvenile was sentenced three years of punishment in a reform home.
Meanwhile, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi reacted with a stor of tweets welcoming the long delayed judgement in the Nirbhaya case, stating that the death sentence will come as a big deterrent to sexual offenders and against crimes against women in general.
I welcome the verdict of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the #Nirbhaya Case.
— Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) May 5, 2017
It will definitely act as a big deterrent for anyone intending to commit crime against women. #Nirbhaya
— Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) May 5, 2017
In the last 3 yrs, the Govt. has made efforts to create a ring fence of security around women to protect them from heinous crime. #Nirbhaya
— Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) May 5, 2017
Brief Timeline :
March 27, 2017: The Supreme Court reserves verdict after nearly a year of hearing the case.
February 3, 3017: The Supreme Court decides to re-hear the case on the sentencing aspect, after the petitioners contend that there have been violations in procedure.
January 6, 2017: The Supreme Court seeks mitigating circumstances from the accused.
November 28, 2016: Senior Advocate and Amicus Curiae Sanjay Hegde argues against reliability of evidence in the case.
April 3, 2016: Hearings begin in the Supreme Court, after 19 months of being in cold storage. Justices Dipak Misra, V. Gopala Gowda and Kurian Joseph to hear the case
December 18, 2015: Delhi High Court refuses to stay release of the minor-accused, who walks free after three years in a juvenile home.
March 15, 2014: The Supreme Court stays execution of the accused after allegations of denial of fair trial.
March 13, 2014: Delhi High Court Bench of Justices Reva Khetrapal and Pratibha Rani upholds the trial Court verdict
September 13, 2013: Four remaining accused sentenced to hang by Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna.
August 31, 2013: Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) presided over by Principal District Magistrate Geetanjali Goel finds the juvenile accused guilty of rape and murder of the medical student, sentences him to three years in Special Home.
March 11, 2013: Main accused Ram Singh commits suicide in Tihar jail.
December 16, 2012: Six men, including the 17-year-old juvenile, gang-rape a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in a moving bus on December 16, 2012 and beat up her companion before trying to run them over with the bus. The girl succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.