India: Top court to deliver verdict on death penalty in 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case today
Story highlights
India's top court, the Supreme Court of India, will at 2 pm today deliver the verdict on the appeals against the death penalty filed by four death-row convicts in the December 16 Nirbhaya gang rape case.
A Delhi trial court as well as the Delhi High Court had sentenced all four convicts -- Akshay, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh -- to death for the gang rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in 2012.
The convicts had challenged the death penalty given by the Delhi High Court and trial court in the Supreme Court.
The matter is being heard by the top court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra and consisting of Justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.
The top court is unlikely to grant relief to the accused.
Justice Dipak Misra, who does not hesitate to give the death sentence, has upheld rape as depravity which is not curable.
On December 16, 2012, six people gang raped a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in a moving bus. Eleven days after her assault, she was transferred to a hospital in Singapore for treatment but succumbed to her injuries two
days later.
One of the accused, Ram Singh, hanged himself in prison. The other accused, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, was convicted in August last year and will serve the maximum sentence of three years in a reform
home.
Ahead of the verdict, Nirbhaya's mother said that she has full faith in the judiciary and is sure that the top court will give justice to her daughter.
"We have full faith in the judicial system and I am sure that the Supreme Court will announce death sentence in its verdict for the guilty. I am sure the Supreme Court will give justice to my daughter. This will set an example for the world," said Nirbhaya's mother.
Nirbhaya's father also said that he is sure of the fact that the top court will award death sentence to the convicts."They will be awarded death sentence. Leave Supreme Court, even God will not forgive such people," said Nirbhaya's father.
(WION with inputs from ANI)