Delhi gang-rape: All four convicts get death

Court terms case rarest of rare crime, says gravity of the offence cannot be tolerated

The fast-track court today awarded death penalty to the four convicts in the Delhi gang-rape case.

The case, which triggered outrage all over the globe, was termed as rarest of rare crime by the court, which added that the incident "shocked the collective conscience of the nation".

"Death to all," Judge Yogesh Khanna said while delivering the verdict, saying the gravity of the offence cannot be tolerated.

"Besides discussing other offences, I straightaway come to section 302 (murder) of IPC. This falls under inhuman nature of the convicts and the gravity of offence they committed cannot be tolerated. Death sentence is given to all the four convicts," he said.

Akshay Kumar Singh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh were pronounced guilty for the gang-rape on Tuesday. Then, Judge Khanna described the act of the four men as 'premeditated' and 'brutal.'

One of the six accused, Ram Singh, had killed himself in Tihar jail this year, while the minor accused has been sent to a juvenile remand home for three years.

Immediately after pronouncement of sentence, the victim's parents expressed satisfaction over the verdict.

Special public prosecutor Dayan Krishnan said, "I have done my job and we (prosecution) are happy with the verdict."

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said judiciary has made this case an example and has conveyed a tough message.

The 23-year-old paramedical student was raped, beaten and tortured by the six men on a moving bus on the outskirts of outer Delhi. The victim died of internal injuries in a Singapore hospital two weeks later.