The much-anticipated verdict against a juvenile who was involved in the December 16, 2012 gang rape of a paramedic student on a running bus on the outskirts of Delhi, is likely to have an impact on the severity of punishment meted out to the other accused in the heinous crime.
"This case is of prime importance. The trials of other accused are going on in the Saket court. One of the accused Mukesh has accepted that he was in the bus that night. The verdict of the Juvenile Justice Board which is likely to come today, will have an impact on the verdicts passed by the other court," said lawyer A.P. Singh.
He further said the delinquent can also be given capital punishment in view of the public sentiment and pressure for maximum punishment for those convicted of rape charges.
Under the Juvenile Act, if capital punishment is granted, the juvenile will be kept in an observation home for three years.
The accused is a juvenile and he is being tried under the juvenile law. He is getting the benefit of his age; he was 17-and-half-years-old when he committed the crime. So, he should undoubtedly get the benefit, even if he has conducted severe brutality and cruelty. But I am sure he must get the benefit of being a juvenile," he added.
The juvenile faced inquiry before the Juvenile Justice Board, where he denied all charges against him as a participant in the brutal rape case. The other accused Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur are being tried in a fast track court in Saket. They have been charged with gang-rape, murder, criminal conspiracy, unnatural sex and robbery besides other sections of IPC.
The girl, who was a paramedical student, was brutally raped in a moving bus on the night of December 16. She died in a Singapore hospital on December 29.
