Delhi gang rape: SC puts on hold death sentence of 2 convicts
Gym instructor Vinay Sharma, bus cleaner Akshay Singh are accused in December 2012 attack
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur, convicted of the gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old student in a moving bus in December 2012.
Justices Ranjana Prakash Desai and N.V. Ramana stayed their execution on the grounds that the apex court had done the same for two other convicts in the case—Mukesh Singh and Pawan Gupta.
Sharma and Thakur were appealing against a 13 March Delhi high court decision which upheld their conviction and death penalty in a 340-page ruling that described the gangrape and murder as “a case of gravest crime of extreme brutality by the convicts shocking the collective conscience of the society".
During the seven-month trial, a fifth defendant hanged himself in his cell and a sixth, who was under 18 at the time of the attack, was sentenced to three years’ detention, the maximum allowed under juvenile law. “The police and the prosecution have falsely implicated them in the case," defence lawyer A.P. Singh said, adding he planned to continue to argue for their acquittal.
The brutal gangrape and murder of the woman sparked outrage in India, where a rape is reported on average every 21 minutes and acid attacks and incidents of molestation are common. Meanwhile, Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad, who retired on Monday, said it was important that only experienced and senior lawyers with the necessary legal acumen argue death penalty cases.
“I emphasize this area of law because death sentence cases are some of the grimmest cases that a judge is asked to handle during his tenure on the bench. A death reference calls upon the judge to decide whether a fellow human being must live or die—a power that some say only the Almighty must exercise. A lawyer’s inexperience in such cases can therefore be fatal," he said during his farewell speech.
Minister for women and child development Maneka Gandhi told reporters on Sunday that juveniles accused of crimes such as rape and murder should be treated on a par with adult offenders.
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