Nirbhaya's killers will hang to death says Supreme Court

Nirbhaya's killers will hang to death the Supreme Court has held. The Supreme Court on Friday confirmed the death sentenced awarded to the four killers of Nirbhaya.

The Bench held that the case fell under the category of the rarest of rare cases. The Bench held that the accused persons were beyond reforms and hence they should hang by the neck until dead.

Justice Dipak Misra while delivering the verdict said that the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused. He also said that the criminal conspiracy has been established.

The Bench also held that the appetite for sex and hunger for brutality has been proven in this case. The court also observed that the juvenile was present in the bus and there is no need to discard this fact.

The court also said that it had analysed several facets and come to the conclusion that the guilt of the accused had been proven. Further the court also observed that the arrest of the accused proven by the prosecution and the custodial confessions. The dying declaration of the victim also proves that the four are guilty the court also held. Further the SC also held that the presence of the accused in the bus has also proven the crime.

The court was hearing appeals filed by four death row convicts against the death penalty in the December 16 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case. The crime against the 23 year old girl had created a public furore. She was brutally assaulted and raped by six persons before being thrown out of a bus in South Delhi. She passed away at hospital a few days later at Singapore.

A three judge Bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra concluded hearings on the appeals on March 27. The appeals were heard for almost a year on a day-to-day basis.

The Delhi police strongly argued for upholding the death penalty for the convicts and termed the incident as a brutal crime. An Amicus Curae who was appointed in the case opposed death penalty sought that a lifer be awarded. Incidentally, the Bench had prima facie agreed with the contention of the amicus that Section 235 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which provides that a trial court should individually hear a convict before sentencing him was not followed in this case.

The counsel appearing for the convicts, asked the court to consider their family background and young age as mitigating factors.The convicts Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Kumar Singh had approached the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court decision confirming the death penalty awarded to them by the trial court.

OneIndia News