Supreme Court upholds death sentence in rape-murder case

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha said he did not endorse the death penalty, but believed that this “heinous rape” was an exception.

The otherwise sombre mood of the court was broken by spontaneous applause when Justice Dipak Misra pronounced the unanimous judgment of the three-judge bench. Her mother wept silently.

The rape, and Singh’s determination to survive long enough to identify her attackers to police, triggered large-scale street protests over the high levels of violence against Indian women and children.

“Our system is modelled on the old British system, whereas other Commonwealth nations have a different system which make it easier to have such convictions”, she said. Almost two weeks later, the woman died. Todays verdict is a gift for her, ” Singh said. “If the sessions or trial court grants a death sentence then those cases should be heard out of turn”, he suggested. The verdict was upheld by the Delhi High Court.

Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh were originally sentenced in September 2013, but had appealed the decision.

The sixth suspect was just months short of his 18th birthday when the crime took place.

The woman died of intestinal injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital, where she been taken for specialized treatment.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentence of all four convicted in the December 2012 Jyoti Singh gangrape case. Their daughter, too, now rests in peace, the couple told PTI after the judgement.

“She would have turned 28 on May 10 if she had lived”. Such was the barbaric attack on her that it shook the nation and made everyone call for justice for her. Her father says the death sentences are a victory for “each and every woman” in India.

The brutal crime committed on December 16, 2013 against the girl, dubbed Nirbhaya by media, had created public furore for a more stringent law against sexual assault of women. He vowed to file a review petition to the chief justice of the Supreme Court. “Now, the Nirbhya’s rapists have got the capital punishment”.

The “Pink” star Taapsee Pannu wrote, “At last, justice delayed is not always justice denied!”