SC reserves verdict on appeals in December 16 gangrape case

The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on appeals of four convicts against the conviction and award of death penalty in the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder case that had shaken the entire nation's conscience.
Besides dealing with the challenge to the conviction, the court is also deliberating on the issue of the quantum of sentence to the convicts as it has been alleged that the trial court did not separately consider "mitigating" circumstances of each convicts while sending them to the gallows.
While Delhi Police sought capital punishment for the convicts, the defence counsel said they deserve leniency considering their poor family background and young age.

The police told a three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra that the horrific crime committed by these men warranted death penalty and the test of being a "rarest of rare" case was satisfied in this matter.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, representing the police, argued that the court should also consider the effect of the crime committed by them on the victim and the society at large.
"The way they (convicts) brutalised the young lady warrants death penalty," he told the bench, also comprising Justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.

"The right of a girl to come out on the street at night cannot be taken away by such persons who say they want to have some fun," he said.

"What could be a more horrific crime than this? What is the answer to the victim's parents who have suffered mental trauma and agony throughout this period? The loss of a young daughter cannot be quantified," Luthra said.
However, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, said there was no doubt that the crime committed was of "immense proportion" but "does the response to that tragedy requires taking away four lives".
He said that the offence and crime committed was "brutal" but as the evidence was not concrete, it does not warrant death penalty.
Senior counsel Raju Ramachandran, who is also assisting the court as amicus curiae, told the bench that the option of awarding jail term for the whole life to these convicts may also be considered.

The bench, while reserving the verdict, asked the parties concerned to file their written submissions within a week.