Death sentence to all four accused in Delhi gang-rape case
The furious public anger that erupted after the ghastly gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedic student on December 16, 2012 was doused to some extent when a Delhi court convicted all the four accused with death sentence on September 13. There was a widespread cry for capital punishment to all the accused.
It took nine months and 130 hearings for pronouncement of judgement in this highly sensational case of recent times that shook the conscience of the nation and force-initiated a debate on modification of criminal laws in India. Terming the crime as the “most brutal and inhuman act with the intention of causing death”, the special fast track court convicted all the four accused (Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur) of all charges slapped against them, including rape and murder of the girl. The 5th accused, Ram Singh, died in police custody on March 11 this year in the Tihar Jail. The 6th accused, the Juvenile was convicted of rape and murder and given the maximum sentence of 3 years on August 31.
“I convict all of the accused. They have been found guilty of gang-rape, unnatural offences, destruction of evidence and for committing the murder of the helpless victim,” said Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna in a 237 page-long judgement, explaining at length the brutality of the crime. The convicts have been held guilty under Sections 376 [2(g)] (gang-rape), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 377 (unnatural offences), 201 (destruction of evidence), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 365, 366 (kidnapping or abduction with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person), 395 (dacoity), 397 (dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 412 (dishonestly receiving property stolen in the commission of a dacoity) of the IPC. —Bureau Report
