Nirbhaya gangrape convicts to be hanged till death, SC upholds sentence

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday upheld High Court and trial court decision to award death to all four convicts in the December 16, 2012 gang rape and murder

A three-member bench of Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice R. Banumathi said the aggravating circumstances against Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur far outweighed the mitigating circumstances cited in their favour.

Taking note of the serious injuries and the severe nature of the offence committed by the convicts, the judges said they were upholding the death sentence.

“It’s a barbaric incident. Taking the serious injuries, the severe nature of offence committed by the convicts, we are upholding the sentence,” said the order said.

“Victim’s dying declaration is consistent; it has been proved beyond doubt and corroborated.

“Aggravating circumstances outweigh mitigating circumstances in the case; offence created ‘tsunami of shock’.”

The convicts challenged the Delhi High Court order which had sentenced them to the gallows.

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

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.

One of the accused, Ram Singh hanged himself in prison, while another person, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, was convicted in August last year and will serve the maximum sentence of three years in a reform home.

ANI/IANS inputs