New Delhi: In one of the most-awaited verdicts, the Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentences of four men convicted of the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student on December 16, 2012.
The case had triggered global outrage.
A three-judge bench, through a unanimous verdict, upheld the Delhi High Court judgement which had concurred with the trial court decision.
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.
Applause broke out in court among relatives of the victim as the bench – comprising Justices Dipak Misra, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan – explained the crime met the “rarest of the rare” standard required to justify capital punishment in India.
This is what the Supreme Court noted while rejecting an appeal against the death penalty:
– Justice Dipak Misra, who read the operative portion of the judgement, said the offence created a “tsunami of shock”.
– The Supreme Court said the 23-year-old woman had suffered a “devastating hour of darkness”.
– “It`s a barbaric crime and it has shaken the society`s conscience… If at all a case warrants the death sentence it is this case,” said Judge R Bhanumati.
– The apex court said the convicts had treated the victim as an object of enjoyment, with the single purpose of ravishing her.
– The court termed the incident as “most brutal, barbaric and diabolical attack” on the victim.
– Describing it as a crime of “mental perversion and extreme brutality” wherein the entire intestine of the victim was perforated” in the “most savage and inhuman manner”, Justice Misra said: “It is a story from a different world where there is irreverence for human beings.”
– The court said it was taking note of the “brutal, demoniacal conduct of the convicts… and they don’t deserve leniency”.
Source: Zee News