Tag: nirbhaya case

Broken ribs & leg, rod inserted in pvt parts: Woman’s gang rape, murder in UP revives ‘Nirbhaya’ case memories

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A horrific case of alleged gang rape and brutality similar to the ‘Nirbhaya’ case of Delhi was reported from the Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh where a middle-aged woman was gang-raped and then killed.

The incident has been reported from a village in the Ughaiti police station area in Badaun district where a woman from the village went to a temple on Sunday evening but never returned.

Locals of the village have alleged that around 12 am, a car rider and two other men escaped, leaving the woman bleeding. She later died in the night. It was also revealed that earlier, the accused had taken the victim to Chandausi for treatment in their car.

Family members of the victim have alleged that the police station officer of Ughaiti, Ravendra Pratap Singh, did not reach the spot even after the complaint. The body was sent for a post-mortem on Monday afternoon, 18 hours after the incident. The post-mortem was done by a panel of three doctors, including a female doctor.

According to the report of the post mortem conducted on Tuesday, the woman had received fatal injuries in her private parts. The woman’s rib and leg were broken while the lungs were attacked with a heavy object. Severe bleeding was also reported.

The police have registered a case of murder and gang rape and have also formed four teams to catch the accused namely, Mahant Baba Satyanarayan, his aide Vedram and driver Jaspal. However, no arrests have been made yet.

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“Nirbhaya Case” first instance of Indian men being vocal on women’s safety: Smriti Irani

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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”Nirbhaya case” is the first instance in India wherein men came out openly and raised their voice for women’s safety, Union Minister Smriti Irani said on Thursday. ”I think one of the turning points in our country where men were very expressive about how they felt about the issues with regards to women’s safety.” ”If you remember when the Nirbhaya gangrape took place men were out at the India Gate lawns with their daughters, wives, with their sisters or their colleagues equally angry about the situation with regards to law and order,” she said.

She was speaking at an interactive session of CII- Indian Women Network’s (IWN) conclave, titled ”Power Women 2020.” On December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old Delhi woman was raped by six men in a moving bus and died in a Singapore hospital a fortnight later. More than seven years later, four of the six men were executed in what came to be known as the Nirbhaya case.

”That was the first-ever public demonstration of how an Indian man feels about the issues of safety for women. There was never before a public expression like this on the streets of India like in the Nirbhaya case,” the union minister for women and child welfare said.

Replying to a query, Irani said there is no specific recipe or a template for one to achieve success in life. According to the minister, there are people with the best of infrastructure foundation for success, yet they failed and there have been people who were not in the race at all but emerged successful.

”So we should not in any way advocate that there is a template within which if you fit in you will succeed and you’ll become a leader. That never happens,” she explained.

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Nirbhaya case: 4 convicts hanged in Tihar Jail

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a Delhi woman on December 16, 2012 were hanged in the darkness of pre-dawn on Friday, ending a horrific chapter in India’s long history of sexual assault that had seared the nation’s soul.

Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) were executed at 5.30 am for the savage assault in an empty moving bus on the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern who came to be known the world over as Nirbhaya, the fearless one.

This is the first time that four men have been hanged together in Tihar Jail, South Asia’s largest prison complex that houses more than 16,000 inmates.

The executions were carried out after the men exhausted every possible legal avenue to escape the gallows. Their desperate attempts only postponed the inevitable by less than two months after the first date of execution was set for January 22.

In last-gasp attempts, one of the convicts knocked on the doors of the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court just hours before the hanging.

In an unprecedented late-night hearing that began at 2.30 AM and lasted an hour, a Supreme Court bench dismissed his last plea.

Finally, the four convicts were hanged at 5.30 am, Director General of Tihar Jail Sandeep Goel said.

After the execution, Nirbhaya’s mother told reporters that justice has finally been done and women will definitely feel safer now.

“We will request the Supreme Court to issue guidelines so that no one can adopt delaying tactics in such cases in future,” she said at her house.

“Our wait for justice was painful and agonising. We appeal for observing this day as Nirbhaya ‘Nyay Diwas’ (day of justice),” Nirbhaya’s father said.

After raping and brutalising the woman, the men, one of whom was a juvenile at the time, dumped her on the road and left for dead on the cold winter night. Her friend who was with her was also severely beaten and thrown out along with her. She was so severely violated that her insides were spilling out when she was taken to hospital. She died in a Singapore hospital after battling for her life for a fortnight.

Six people, including the four convicts and the juvenile, were named as accused.

While Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail days after the trial began in the case, the juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.

The road to the gallows was a long and circuitous one, going through the lower courts, the High Court, the Supreme Court and the president’s office before going back to the Supreme Court that heard and rejected various curative petitions.

The death warrants were deferred by a court thrice on the grounds that the convicts had not exhausted all their legal remedies and that the mercy petition of one or the other was before the president.

On March 5, a trial court issued fresh death warrants for March 20 at 5.30 am as the final date for the execution.

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Nirbhaya case convicts to be hanged tomorrow

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The hanging of four convicts in the Nirbhaya case will take place on Friday morning. A Delhi court said no legal remedies of any of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case were pending in any of the courts.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana was informed by the public prosecutor that second mercy pleas of two convicts, Akshay Kumar Singh and Pawan Gupta, were not entertained and were rejected on the ground that the first one was entertained and considered on merit.

Three of the four convicts had on Wednesday moved a Delhi court seeking stay on their death penalty, saying the second mercy plea of one of them was still pending.

On March 5, a trial court had issued fresh death warrants for March 20 at 5.30 am, as the date for the execution of convicts Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Kumar Singh.

(with PTI inputs)

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Nirbhaya case: Delhi court defers hanging of 4 death row convicts until further order

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A Delhi court deferred until further order the hanging of four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder convict.

The execution of the four convicts was scheduled for 6 am on March 3.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana said that the death sentence cannot be executed pending disposal of mercy petition of convict Pawan Kumar Gupta.

The court passed the order on Pawan’s plea seeking to stay the execution as he filed a mercy petition before the President on March 2.

Earlier in the day, a Delhi court had dismissed the pleas of two of the four convicts which sought a stay on the execution. The court decided however to hear the lawyer of one of the two convicts, Pawan Kumar Gupta, after it was informed that he has filed a mercy plea before the President after his curative petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana asked Pawan’s lawyer, A P Singh, to come post lunch to argue on why stay of execution be granted.

The court dismissed the applications for stay moved by Pawan and co-convict Akshay Kumar Singh.

After the order was passed, Pawan’s lawyer informed the court that he has filed a mercy plea before the President and the execution be stayed.

Akshay, in his application for stay, had said that he has filed a fresh mercy petition before the President of India, which is pending.

He contended that his earlier mercy petition which was dismissed by the President did not have complete facts.

Pawan had taken the ground that he has filed a curative petition before the Supreme Court. He had also said that he had an option to file a mercy petition.

Both the convicts told the court further that a number of other petitions are also pending before the Supreme Court and other authorities.

The court had on February 17 had ordered that the four convicts — Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) — be hanged on March 3 after it issued fresh death warrants, observing that deferring the execution any further would be “sacrilegious” to the rights of the victim for expeditious justice.

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Nirbhaya case: Supreme Court issues notices to 4 death row convicts on Centre’s appeal against Delhi HC verdict

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Supreme Court Tuesday sought response from the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case on the Centre’s appeal challenging the Delhi High Court verdict which dismissed its plea against stay on their execution.

It also granted liberty to the authorities to approach the trial court for issuance of fresh date for the execution of these convict.

A 3-judge bench, headed by Justice R Banumathi and also comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna, said the pendency of the appeal filed by the Centre and the Delhi government before it would not be an impediment for the trial court in issuing fresh date for execution of the convicts.

Solicitor General Tuhar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Delhi government, said the execution of the convicts is not for “enjoyment ” and the authorities are only executing the mandate of the law.

Referring to the delaying tactics of the convicts, he said three of them have exhausted their remedies but one of them, Pawan Gupta, has not yet filed either a curative plea in the apex court or a mercy petition before the President.

He said the court has to keep in mind the impact of this situation on the society as despite the appeals of the convict being dismissed by the top court in 2017, the authorities were “struggling to execute them even now”.

Mehta referred to the alleged encounter killing of four accused in the gang rape and murder case of a woman veterinarian in Hyderabad and said: “People had celebrated after this and this was because people have started losing faith in the system. This reflects poorly on our system.”

The court had initially said that issuing notice to the convicts would further delay the matter but later did so on the appeal filed by the Centre and Delhi government.

During the hearing on Friday, Mehta had told the court that the “nation’s patience is being tested” in the matter and the bench will have to lay down a law on the issue.

The mercy pleas of Akshay Kumar and Vinay Kumar Sharma have already been dismissed, he had said, adding that the fourth convict Pawan Gupta has neither filed a curative petition nor a mercy plea.

Sharma approached the Supreme Court on Tuesday challenging the rejection of his mercy petition by the President. He has also sought commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment.

“Pawan has chosen not to file a curative or a mercy petition. The question is, is the authority required to wait endlessly,” Mehta had told the bench of Friday.

To this, the bench had said, “No one can be compelled to take remedies.”

Mehta had said in this case there may be a situation where one convict “sits tight for five years” and the others then approach the apex court seeking commutation of death penalty on the ground of delay in execution.

The Centre, through its Additional Solicitor General K M Natraj, had moved the top court seeking an urgent hearing on its appeal assailing the verdict which held last Wednesday that the death row convicts have to be executed together and not separately.

Natraj had told the court that jail authorities are unable to execute the convicts in the case despite the fact that their review petitions have been dismissed and curative petitions and mercy pleas of three of them have been rejected.

The high court set a week’s deadline for them to avail the remaining remedies.

If the convicts choose not to make any type of petition in seven days from now, the institutions and authorities concerned will deal with the matter, as per the law, without further delay, it had said.

The trial court had on Friday dismissed the pleas of Delhi government and Tihar jail authorities seeking fresh date for execution of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

The court had on January 31 stayed “till further orders” execution of the four convicts in the case — Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan (25), Vinay (26) and Akshay (31), who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

The first order for execution of death sentence, issued on January 7 for January 22, was stayed on January 17. The second warrant, issued on January 17, for February 1 was stayed on January 31.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as ‘Nirbhaya’ (fearless), was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.

Six people including the four convicts, Ram Singh and a juvenile — were named as accused.

Ram Singh, the prime accused, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Tihar jail days after the trial began. The juvenile, who was said to be the most brutal of the attackers, was put in a correctional home for three years.

The juvenile was released in 2015 and sent to an undisclosed location amid concerns over a threat to his life. He, when released, was 20 years old.

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Nirbhaya case: Delhi court postpones execution of death warrants of all convicts till further order

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A Delhi court on Friday postponed execution of death warrants of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case till further order.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana passed the order on plea by the convicts seeking a stay on their execution on Saturday, February 1. The court had reserved its order in the pre-lunch session.

The court did not agree with the Tihar jail authorities which had challenged the application of three condemned prisoners in the case seeking a stay on their execution.

The black warrants for execution of the death sentence against Pawan Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma, Akshay Kumar and Mukesh Kumar Singh, were issued on January 17.

The convicts’ lawyer argued that rules dictate that when one convict’s plea is pending the others cannot be hanged.

Advocate A P Singh, representing the convicts — Pawan, Vinay and Akshay — urged the court to adjourn the executions “sine die” (with no appointed date for resumption). Vinay’s mercy plea before the president is pending.

Mukesh mercy plea was dismissed by President Ram Nath Kovind on January 17. The appeal against the rejection was thrown out by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The trial court on January 17 issued black warrants for the second time for the execution of all the four convicts in the case in Tihar jail at 6 am on February 1. Earlier, on January 7, the court had fixed January 22 as the hanging date.

The curative petitions of Vinay and Akshay have been rejected by the apex court. Pawan is the only one yet not to file a curative plea.

Convicts have the option of moving a mercy petition before the president only after the apex court dismisses their curative plea.

Earlier in the day, the apex court dismissed Pawan’s plea seeking review of the decision by which his application claiming to be a juvenile at the time of the commission of offence was rejected.

A 23-year-old physiotherapy intern who came to be known as “Nirbhaya” (the fearless one) was gangraped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.

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Nirbhaya case: Government moves Supreme Court seeking 7-day deadline for executing death row convicts

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Centre on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court for fixing a seven-day deadline for executing death penalty of condemned prisoners.

The plea of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) assumes significance in view of the the death row convicts in the sensational Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case of 2012 filing review, curative and mercy petitions, which has delayed their hanging.

The MHA’s plea sought a direction from the top court in fixing the deadline for filing of curative pleas after the rejection of review petitions.

It also sought a direction that “if the convict of death sentence wants to file mercy petition, it would be mandatory for a convict of death sentence to do so only within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of death warrant issued by the competent court”.

The MHA submitted that the top court should “mandate all the competent courts, state governments, prison authorities in the country to issue death warrant of a convict within seven days of the rejection of his mercy petition and to execute death sentence within seven days thereafter irrespective of the stage of review petition/curative petition/mercy petition of his co-convicts”.

The top court, on January 20, had rejected the plea of a death row convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case challenging the Delhi High Court order which had dismissed his claim of being a juvenile at the time of offence saying he cannot re-agitate the issue by filing fresh application.

A Delhi court has recently issued fresh death warrants for February 1 against the four convicts — Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31), Mukesh Kumar Singh (32) and Pawan (26) — in the case after their hanging got delayed from January 22 due to pending petitions.

The 23-year-old paramedic student, referred to as Nirbhaya, was gang-raped and brutally assaulted on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012, in a moving bus in south Delhi by six people before she was thrown out on the road.

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7 years after Nirbhaya: The truth about why women in India still feel unsafe 

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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It is 2020, but India is still taking baby steps towards gender equality and women’s safety. While the clock ticks on the execution of the death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, the big question is whether India is still drooling in the past when it comes to the state of its women. Has the mindset changed?

It took nearly seven years after the Nirbhaya incident for a death warrant to be issued against the four convicts. They would be hanged till death at Tihar jail in Delhi on February 1.

In 2013, soon after that crime, which shocked the nation’s conscience, was committed, the government formed the Justice Verma Committee to come up with solutions. The panel recommended a slew of amendments to the criminal law to provide for quicker trial and harsher punishment in cases of crimes against women.

How many of these recommendations have been implemented? More importantly, are Indian women safe now? Truth is violence against women continues unabated. Not a day passes by without sordid tales of women harassed, assaulted, raped or killed in many parts of India.

Social activists point out that crimes such as rape, sexual assault, eve-teasing and stalking are yet to be seen as a matter of grave concern by the Indian society. Gruesome crimes like that of Dhananjoy rape case and Mathura rape cases underscore this callousness.

A change in the attitude of people is imperative, says Senior Supreme Court lawyer HP Ranina. “It is a part of education because you find that in spite of all these punishments including death penalties, women here face several atrocities. The people who commit such crimes are uneducated and are from small towns and villages,” he said.

Grim picture 

Ranina is not optimistic; he thinks it will take a whole generation for things to change. “People coming from remote villages and small towns to the cities are completely unaware of ethical values or what the law is like. Even in a country like the United States, all kinds of crimes are committed on a daily basis. It is unfortunate but yes, it is indeed the change of attitude that matters,” he said.

Official figures attest to this grim picture. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report of 2018, crimes against women in India have been rising sharply since 2011. The number of cases registered in 2011 was 24,206 and soared to 38,947 in 2016.

Aditya Sondhi, former additional advocate general of Karnataka, told CNBC-TV18 that the Justice Verma Committee’s recommendations resulted in important changes to the law, including a new calibration of ‘consent’ and a recognition of other types of violations against women such voyeurism and stalking. “However, marital rape still remains decriminalised. While the reform in the law post Nirbhaya has certainly created a new awareness and etiquette, as manifested in the #MeToo reactions, the general brutality against women remains unabated.”

Though the legislative responses of the State have been fairly positive, it is equally important that messaging by those in power is compatible with societal expectations, according to Sondhi. “For instance, misogynistic statements and actions by political leaders ought to be dealt with an iron hand,” he said.

The NCRB report said lack of good governance has led to the present insecure and unsafe environment. It suggested improving the quality of police force, installation of CCTVs inside buses in metro cities and tamper-proof GPS system, among other ideas to make India a safer place for women. Problem is that these suggestions have largely remained on paper.

The NCRB annual report of 2017 revealed that crimes against women in India stood at 359,849, of which 32,559 cases of rape were reported. Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar, who was hailed by many as a hero for the killing of four accused in the gang rape and murder of a Hyderabad veterinarian, said it is not impossible to eradicate such crimes against women. “Through speedy trials in courts through coordination between the prosecution and judiciary and pronouncing severe punishment and also by giving publicity to the judgments it is possible to curb such crimes,” he said.

UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment, also believes that all the violence that we see in the society against women is strictly based on gender-based discrimination which closely signifies how people’s thoughts are not really developing or changing towards the womenfolk.

A work in progress 

Shree Anusuya, DCP Admin, Women and Children Safety Wing, Cyberabad, underscored the need to make people aware of the laws. “After the JS Verma Committee came out, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act was passed in the year 2013. Section 364 of IPC was sub-divided into section 364 – A, B, C, and D and it covered crimes like stalking, voyeurism, harassment at workplace. In the year 2018, there was an approach made again in regards to the juvenile who was accused of Nirbhaya rape. The point is that people are to be made aware of the laws and the punishments,” she said.

DIG Home Guard in Bihar, Pankaj Sinha, pointed to the many positive changes in regulations. “Acts like the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 has been passed. People are to be educated to avoid the system of dowry. In Bihar, CCTV cameras have been put up in many public spots in the city including police stations. Even in rural areas CCTVs have been installed,” he said.

Despite all these measures, there have been many harassment cases even at workplaces. “In the current scenario, the safety of womenfolk differs from city to city and state to state. For instance, I feel safer here than in Bihar. Being liberal is what matters,” Priyam Bhandari, a law student at Symbiosis Law School in Pune told CNBC-TV18.

Women’s empowerment is a work in progress in all societies. “Steps such as increasing the number of women cops will definitely go a long way in addressing this issue. Moreover, awareness campaigns should be conducted among students at schools and colleges across the country. Respecting women cannot be a rule, but definitely it can be a responsibility,” a gender rights campaigner pointed out.

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Nirbhaya case: Supreme Court rejects death row convict’s juvenile claim

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Supreme Court Monday rejected the plea of a death row convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case challenging the Delhi High Court order which had dismissed his claim of being a juvenile at the time of commission of offence.

A bench comprising Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bushan and A S Bopanna dismissed the plea of the death row convict, Pawan Kumar Gupta, and upheld the Delhi High Court verdict.

The apex court said there was no ground to interfere with the high court order that rejected Pawan’s plea and his claim was rightly rejected by the trial court as also the high court.

Advocate A P Singh, appearing for Pawan, said that as per his school leaving certificate he was a minor at the time of the offence and none of the courts, including trial court and high court, ever considered his documents.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi police, said that his claim of juvenility was considered at each and every judicial forum and it will be a travesty of justice if the convict is allowed to raise the clam of juvenility repeatedly and at this point of time.

He said the convict was 19 years old at the time of offence and there is a certified copy of his birth certificate as well as school leaving certificate which was taken on record by each and every judicial forum.

Pawan had moved the apex court on Friday. He has also sought a direction restraining the authorities from executing the death penalty, scheduled for February 1.

A Delhi court on Friday issued fresh death warrants for February 1 against the four convicts — Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31), Mukesh Kumar Singh (32) and Pawan (25) — in the case.

A 23-year-old paramedic student, referred to as Nirbhaya, was gang-raped and brutally assaulted on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012, in a moving bus in south Delhi by six people before she was thrown out on the road.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow