HC favours death for crimes against women
"The incidents of this type are on rise and must meet with severe sentence. Such persons must be dealt with iron-hand and ought to be given sentence of death," the Nagpur bench of the court said while dismissing the criminal appeal filed by Buldhana-based accused Vitthal Chopade.
The bench comprising Justices Pratap Hardas and Arun Choudhary recently upheld the Khamgaon (Buldhana district) sessions court order of awarding life imprisonment to the accused for stabbing and killing Nitin Joshi, who protested lewd remarks made by the accused.
According to prosecution, in 2004 when Nitin had come to pick up her sister from an examination centre at Kherda in Buldhana, Chopade passed some vulgar comments on the girl. When Nitin protested, the accused stabbed him with a knife in his abdomen. Nitin succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital.
During hearing, Chopade's counsel defended him saying that apart from the girl and her friend, none of the other 400-500 witnesses came up to depose against him. But the court turned it down asserting that quality and not quantity of testimony matters. "Since all the testimonies have been corroborated by medical examination and cross-examinations, the quality is indeed high," the court said.
"The appellant committed the offence with cruelty and with preparation by already having a big knife with him. He had no reason to have such a big knife in his waist. He wanted to terrorise the girl and the entire family towards his nefarious design," the court observed before upholding life sentence awarded to the accused.
Meanwhile, Delhi today turned into a fortress a a day after violent protests rocked India Gate which was kept out of bounds for people but protests continued in the city which witnessed traffic mess hassling office goers, students and others.
As the outrage continued over the December 16 gangrape of a 23-year-old student, police said charge sheet will be filed "within a week" in the case even as two Assistant Commissioners of Police were suspended and explanations sought from two DCPs on why the crime could not be prevented.
Police
clampdown
in
Delhi
leads
to
chaos:
Security
personnel
kept
Rajpath,
the
stretch
linking
India
Gate
and
Raisina
Hill
leading
to
Rashtrapati
Bhavan,
locked
down
with
barricades
and
heavy
deployment
of
personnel
with
riot-gear
besides
disallowing
traffic
on
Rajpath
and
closing
down
nine
Delhi
Metro
stations.
It
was
chaos
on
roads
as
police
restricted
vehicular
movement
around
India
Gate
leading
to
huge
traffic
jams
in
central
Delhi,
including
near
ITO,
Mathura
Road
and
roads
leading
to
the
VIP
areas.
At Jantar Mantar, a number of protesters gathered to demand speedy punishment for the criminals involved in the gangrape but no violence was reported. Today's protests appeared muted as police did not allow anybody to reach near India Gate or Raisina Hill, which saw pitched battles between security forces and protesters yesterday leaving around 150 injured from both sides.
LG
back
in
Delhi,
Suspends
ACPs:
Cutting
short
his
visit
to
the
US,
Delhi
Lt
Governor
Tejinder
Khanna
returned
to
the
capital
and
held
discussions
with
senior
police
officials
and
women's
groups
to
chalk
out
a
plan
for
improving
safety
of
women
in
the
capital.
"We
have
suspended
two
ACPs
Mohan
Singh
Dabas
(Traffic)
and
Yagram
(PCR).
I
have
instructed
the
Police
Commissioner
to
seek
explanation
from
DCPs
Premnath
(Traffic)
and
Satbir
Kataria
(PCR)
and
will
decide
on
further
action
after
that,"
he
told
reporters.
Victim
still
critical:
On
the
otherhand,
the
condition
of
the
victim
has
deteriorated
and
she
remained
in
a
critical
condition
at
Safdarjung
Hospital,
doctors
said.
"She
is
still
in
a
critical
condition
and
not
out
of
danger,"
doctors
said.
Verma
panel
on
new
laws:
The
three-member
committee
of
jurists,
constituted
to
give
recommendations
on
amending
laws
to
provide
speedier
justice
and
enhanced
punishment
in
sexual
assault
cases,
began
its
work
today
by
issuing
notice
seeking
public
comments
on
the
issue
by
January
5.
The committee headed by former Chief Justice of India J S Verma sought comments from the public in general, particularly eminent jurists, legal professionals, NGOs, women's groups and civil society members on reviewing the existing laws in a bid to provide quicker justice and stringent punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault.
The comments can be sent at email ID - [email protected] or through FAX at 011-23092675.
The committee, which was constituted after public protests erupted over the Delhi gangrape case, will look into possible amendments to the criminal law for faster trial and proper punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault of extreme nature against women.
The other members of the committee, constituted by the government, are Justice (retd) Leila Seth, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, and Gopal Subramanian, former Solicitor General of India. The panel has been given 30 days to give its report to the government.
Under the existing law, the maximum punishment for rape is a life term but the nation-wide outrage over the gangrape of the 23-year-old physiotherapy student in a moving bus last Sunday night has sparked a demand for death penalty for rape convicts. BJP has also favoured death for perpetrators of such crimes and demanded a special session of Parliament for amending the laws.
BJP
to
meet
President:
Slamming
the
government
for
turning
down
its
suggestions
of
convening
a
special
Parliament
session
and
an
all-party
meet
in
the
wake
of
protests
on
gangrape
incident,
BJP
today
said
it
will
raise
the
issue
of
crimes
aganst
women
with
President
Pranab
Mukherjee
tomorrow
(Dec
25).
The principal opposition held a meeting of its Core Group and general secretaries here today to discuss the "government's attitude" in the wake of the gangrape of a 23-year old woman in Delhi and the huge protests which have followed the incident and decided that its delegation will meet the President. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said it is regrettable that government "does not want to talk" to the Opposition or the protesters. She condemned the police action against the students who were agitating on the issue.
"Since the government has refused to call a special session of Parliament to pass stringent laws to punish those committing crimes against women and also to hold an all-party meeting, we have sought time from President Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow to discuss the issue," she said.
The BJP leader lamented that police used tear gas and batons against the protesters, including women. "Yesterday women were lathicharged ruthlessly by male police personnel. 80 student protesters were admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital," Swaraj said. She said that the agitation has spread across the country. "If government does not take action, public anger will increase further. Everyday the newspapers are full of crimes against women. This is accumulated anger," Swaraj said.
OneIndia
News
(With
PTI
inputs)