New Delhi: Nine months after the horrific gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi triggered nationwide outrage, a special court on Friday sentenced all four convicts to death,, a verdict that was applauded across the nation.
Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna, who presided over a fast-track court that finished the trial in seven months, said their "hair rising beastly and unparalleled behaviour" definitely qualified it as one of the "rarest of rare cases. Hence, I award the following punishment to each of the convicts," the judge said, symbolically breaking the nib of the pen. Accordingly, "the convicts be hanged by neck till they are dead." Khanna took just a few minutes to sentence the four men to death for the pitiless gang-rape saying the gravity of the offence cannot be tolerated.
"Besides discussing others offences, I straightaway come to section 302 (murder) of IPC. This falls under inhuman nature of the convicts and the gravity of offence they committed cannot be tolerated. Death sentence is given to all the four convicts," he said. The offence committed by Mukesh (26), Akshay Thakur (28), Pawan Gupta (19) and Vinay Sharma (20) falls under the rarest of rare category warranting capital punishment, the judge said.
"Court cannot turn a blind eye to such a gruesome act," the judge said, while handing down the maximum punishment to the four convicts in the Delhi gang-rape case. He said, "When crime against women is rising on day-to-day basis, so, at this point in time court cannot keep its eye shut." "There should be exemplary punishment in view of the unparallelled brutality with which the victim was gang raped and murdered, as the case falls under the rarest of rare category. All be given death," the court said while reading out a portion of the order.
"This is a time when serious crime against a woman has come to the fore and now its judiciary's responsibility to instil confidence among the women," it said. Besides murder, the four have been also convicted for offences including gangrape, unnatural offences, attempt to murder, dacoity, destruction of evidence, conspiracy, kidnapping or abducting in order to murder, while acquitting them of the charge of murder in dacoity.
Immediately after pronouncement of sentence, the victim's mother expressed satisfaction over the verdict. "Halak mein saans atki thi, jo ab bahar nikli hai. Mein dhanywaad karti hu desh ke logon ka aur media ka' (We were waiting with bated breath, now we are relieved. I thank the people of my country and the media)," she said. Besides her, the victim's father and two brothers were also present in the jam-packed court room when the sentence was pronounced.
Hearing that he will face the gallows, Vinay started crying in court while the other three convicts-Mukesh, Pawan, Akshay-started shouting for pardon, with one of the defence lawyers A P Singh also joining them in seeking mercy. Advocate V K Anand, who appeared for Mukesh, said he has regard for the verdict and he will file an appeal in the Delhi high court.
Soon after the Delhi gang-rape verdict was delivered, people waiting outside the courtroom started clapping.
Defence counsel A P Singh said he will move high court only "if no other rape takes place in next two months after this verdict". "If the country wanted this case to be a deterrent, I will wait for two months to see the crime scene. If no rape takes place due to death being given in the instant case, I will give in writing that my clients be hanged," he said.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde echoed the national sentiments when he said: "Justice was given to the girl and the family. It passes on the message that if you commit this crime, this is the punishment you will get," he declared. "This was the rarest of rare crime...Damini and her family have got justice. I welcome the court ruling," Shinde said. "The 'nyay devta' has set a new example for such culprits that if you commit such a heinous crime, then you will get a stringent punishment," the minister said. "There was an atmosphere in the country after this incident....We expected such a punishment," Shinde said. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj said the death penalty will act as a deterrent for such offences.
