The Supreme Court on Monday, 9 July upheld the death sentence awarded to the convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. Three of the four adult convicts had filed review petitions seeking reduction of the death sentence to life imprisonment.
A three-judge bench comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan and R Bhanumathi, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, pronounced the verdict.
- Nirbhaya’s parents said that the faith in judiciary was reinstated but justice was denied
- AP Singh, counsel for the convicts, said that the verdict was given due to political, public and media pressure
- Three of the four convicts sentenced to death had filed review pleas before the Supreme Court
- In 2017, the SC had upheld the capital punishment awarded to them by the Delhi High Court and the trial court
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Govt's Stringent Measures Working: Union Min Maneka Gandhi on SC Verdict
Union Minister Maneka Gandhi today said that a Madhya Pradesh court recently handed down the death sentence in the rape case of a minor girl, and today the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for Nirbhaya convicts.
"These are the first verdicts after the new law came into force. The stringent measures taken by the government are working," she said.
Punishment a Lesson to Those Who Attempt Such Crimes, Says Congress
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted that the punishment to the convicts in the Nirbhaya rape case was a lesson to all those who attempt such horrid crimes. "We stand by Nirbhaya's parents, as always, in this quest for justice," he said. He hoped the government will now follow up to act decisively on issues of women’s safety.
Rapists Were not Juveniles, Says Nirbhaya's Mother
Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi said that the convicts in the rape and murder case of her daughter were not juveniles. "It is unfortunate that they committed such crime. This decision reaffirms our trust in the court that we will definitely get justice."
SC's Verdict Restores People Faith in Judiciary: BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi
BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi today said that the SC's judgment in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case has restored people's faith in the judiciary. "We, as a society, need to send a very strong message to the culprits and accused in the rape cases," she told ANI.