Asha Devi, the mother of the 2012 Delhi gangrape victim, on Monday praised the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the death penalty of three men convicted of raping and murdering her daughter, reported ANI. She, however, called on the judiciary to “tighten the system”.
“Our struggle does not end here,” Devi told reporters after the court had announced its decision. “Justice is getting delayed. It is affecting other daughters of the society. I request the judiciary to tighten their judicial system, serve justice to Nirbhaya by hanging them as soon as possible and help other girls and women.”
The victim’s father too said a lot of time had passed. “I believe sooner they’re hanged, better it is,” said Badrinath Singh. Their lawyer, Rohan Mahajan, said, “The only request to the Central government is to expedite whatever process is to follow.”
The National Commission for Women’s chairperson Rekha Sharma said the court’s verdict was a landmark decision. “I welcome this decision as it proves justice can be delayed but not denied,” Sharma told ANI. “It is a landmark decision. This judgement shows that law takes its own course in this country.”
On Monday, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan dismissed the review petition filed by Mukesh, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma. The fourth death row convict, Akshay Kumar Singh, did not file a review petition.
The rape case
Six men had raped and brutally assaulted the 23-year-old student in a moving bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012. The woman succumbed to her injuries two weeks later at a hospital in Singapore. The minor convict served three years in a detention home for juveniles and was released in December 2015, while one accused died in prison.
On May 5, 2017, the Supreme Court had upheld the verdict of the Delhi High Court and the trial court awarding capital punishment to the four convicts.
In January, the Supreme Court gave two convicts – Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma – more time to file responses in connection with their review petition against the death penalty. On May 4, the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on the plea. The convicts had argued through their lawyer AK Singh that they should be spared the death sentence as it amounted to “cold-blooded killing in the name of justice”.
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