The Supreme Court on Friday has upheld the death sentence of all the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape case that shook the nation on the night of December 16, 2012.
The 23-year-old physiotherapist was gangraped by six men, including one juvenile, on a moving bus, brutalized with an iron rod and her intestines were pulled out. She died in Singapore 13 days later.
In 2013, a trial court had ruled that the convicts should be hanged and in 2014 the high court confirmed the sentence. But the four convicts- Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh challenged the verdict in Supreme Court.
In March 2013, one of the convicts, Ram Singh allegedly hanged himself in his cell in Tihar jail. And according to reports, the juvenile involved in the case was sent to the Juvenile Correction Home for three years and was released in December 2015.
According to reports, a bench of Justices Deepak Misra, Bhanumathi and Ashok Bhushan read out the judgment.
The Supreme Court while delivering the order today said, “The Nirbhaya rape-cum-murder case is rarest of rare case and we are compelled to give extreme punishment to ensure justice.” The court also added, “Taking the serious injuries, the severe nature of offence committed by the convicts in consideration, we are upholding the sentence.”
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s verdict, Nirbhaya’s mother said that her daughter has got justice, Times of India reports. The victim’s father added that “It’s a victory for my family, I’m very happy with the judgement.”
In response to this remarkable judgement, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi said this is justice. “This is justice. All judgements should change soon. Hopes this case acts as a deterrent.”
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that justice has been finally done in the Nirbhaya case. He also said, “It is also a reminder to the society and lawmakers to work towards building a safe environment for our women.”
CPI(M)’s Brinda Karat hailed the verdict. “In principle, I’m against death penalty, but this was such a heinous crime that strictest punishment was needed,” she said.
To read the full judgement of the Nirbhaya gangrape case, click here.
