The Supreme Court today upheld the death penalty for the four convicts for the gang-rape and murder of Nirbhaya – a 23-year-old paramedic- which had shaken the entire nation in 2012.
The December 16, 2012 sensational gangrape and murder case sent a ‘tsunami of shock all over the world’.
The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan, delivering order said, “The Nirbhaya rape cum murder case is rarest of rare case and we are compelled to give extreme punishment to ensure justice”. “The convicts treated the victim as an object of enjoyment, with the single purpose of ravishing her”, the bench said.
“There would be no leniency for the convicts because aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstances like the poor family background, young age of accused, good conduct in prison, marital status, small kids etc”, the bench observed.
As soon as it read out its order, the packed court began to applaud.
The apex court was hearing an appeal by four convicts – Akshay, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh – who challenged the Delhi High Court’s March 2014 confirmation of the death sentence handed to them by a trial court in 2013.
“The brutal, barbaric and demonical conduct of the convicts shook the conscience of humanity and they don’t deserve any leniency”, the court said.
“The convicts’ lawyer, however, had a dissent view. “You can’t hang someone just to send a message to society”, said A P Singh, the convicts’ lawyer. Mr Singh said that justice was not done and they would file a review petition after reading the order.
Nirbhaya, the 23-year-old paramedic, was raped and brutalized with an iron rod on a moving bus Dehli on December 16, 2012. She and her male friend were then thrown out of the bus. Nirbhaya lost her battle for life in a Singapore hospital on December 29.
Soon after the apex court upheld the death sentence for the four convicts, Nirbhaya’s parents thanked the judiciary for delivering justice to' their daughter'.
“It took time but justice was served. We have no complaints”, said Badri Singh, Nirbhaya’s father. “ It is a victory for my family. I am very happy with the judgement”, he added.
Nirbhaya’s mother echoed his sentiments. “Many ups and downs came , I made them my strength”, she said. She said that she was confident that justice would be done. She also thanked the judiciary for delivering justice to her daughter.