The Bombay High Court on Thursday, 25 November, mitigated the death sentence given to the three perpetrators involved in the 2013 gang rape case of a photojournalist in Mumbai, granting them life imprisonment for the remainder of their life.
"Death puts an end to the concept of repentance. It cannot be said that the accused deserved only death penalty. They deserve imprisonment for life to repent the offence committed by them," the high court bench of Justices Sadhana Jadhav and Prithviraj Chavan pronounced, news agency PTI reported.
On 22 August 2013, a 22-year-old photojournalist was gang-raped in the abandoned Shakti Mills compound in Mumbai. While her case was on trial, another 18-year-old woman came forward, and claimed that she was gang-raped by the same men a month prior to the case.
The three accused, Vijay Jadhav, Mohammad Qasim Shaikh, and Mohammad Ansari, were subsequently handed out the death penalty in 2014. This came after the court allowed the addition of a charge under Section 376E against the accused.
Following this, the three accused filed an appeal in the court against the constitutional validity of Section 376E itself.
What More Did the Court Say
In its order, the court added that it cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the offence has 'shocked the collective conscience of the society,' but noted that a death sentence is irrevocable, PTI reported.
Further, it said that the judiciary has a commitment to law and the procedures laid down by it, and must look at cases dispassionately.
It added that the accused will not be permitted for parole or furlough, and denied them the right to assimilate in the society, PTI reported.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)