Death for all 4

• Cannot turn blind eye to barbaric crimes, says Court
• Judgement widely celebrated across the nation
• High Court has to confirm Sessions Court’s verdict
• Nirbhaya’s parents, brother say they are relieved
• Shinde says justice delivered to Nirbhaya’s family
• Death will act as deterrent to such offences: Sushma

Venkat Parsa

New Delhi: Justice was finally delivered in the Delhi gangrape case that shook the conscience of the nation on December 16, 2012. Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna on Friday pronounced the death sentence in a packed courtroom for all the four convicts – Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh – classifying the crime as the rarest of rare. “Death to all,” the Judge announced. The sentence by the Sessions Court has to be confirmed by the Delhi High Court. The judge said, “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,” the Judge said. “In these times when crime against women is on the rise, courts cannot turn a blind eye towards such barbaric and gruesome crime. There cannot be any tolerance. This crime in every way falls within the rarest of rare category, warranting a death sentence.”

He had convicted them of gangrape, murder, conspiracy, attempt to murder, unnatural offences, dacoity, destruction of evidence, kidnapping with intent to secretly and wrongfully confining a person, abducting to subject a person to grievous hurt and slavery and abducting a woman to cause her defilement.

In all, six persons were arrested for the heinous crime. The key accused, Ram Singh, committed suicide in Tihar Jail, while another, who was juvenile at the time of crime but turned a major soon after, got away with three years sentence to a remand hope.

The deceased girl's family sat in the packed courtroom, not far from the convicts. The girl’s mother, with her husband and two sons by her side, said, “I can finally breathe, I am relieved and we are finally at peace. They have got the punishment they truly deserve. No victim should remain silent. They must come forward and report the crime.” The girl’s father said, “We are happy. Justice has been delivered.” Before the commencement of the proceedings, the mother broke down while talking to reporters, saying “Today I keep remembering her life, the pain she suffered.”

She was with her daughter when she died in Singapore, 13 days after the savage assault. One of the convicts, Vinay Sharma, broke down, as the sentence was pronounced. In a slum in South Delhi, Champa Devi, mother of one of the convicts, on heating that her son would be hanged. “My son will die soon,” Champa Devi said. Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said, “The girl has got justice and her family has got justice.” Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj said, “I welcome the verdict. Death penalty will act as a deterrent for such heinous offences.”