The Delhi High Court Thursday upheld the death sentences to four convicts in the Delhi December 16, 2012 gang rape. Here are key points of the judgment delivered by a division bench of Justice Justice Reva Khetrapal and Justice Pratibha Rani.
* The entire incident is completely revolting, gruesome and spine chilling.
* The time, place, manner of execution and the motive behind the commission of the crime speaks volumes of the premeditated and callous nature of the offence. The medical evidence charters the hellish misery and trauma inflicted upon the prosecutrix (victim) before her death.
* The barbarity with which the internal organs of the victim were pulled out with bare hands coupled with the twisting of iron rods through every orifice in her body exhibits outlandish mental perversion not worthy of human condonation.
* Most certainly, the crime was not committed to alleviate poverty or the pangs of hunger and starvation, nor were the convicts in such impecunious circumstances as is sought to be portrayed.
* Undoubtedly they (culprits) did not belong to the cream of the society, but they were neither beggars nor vagabonds nor even ruffians for whom crime is a means of self-preservation and is in fact reflective of the social injustice meted out to them.
* They were in fact men who were usefully and gainfully-employed and were not expected to stoop so low in their lust for money and in order to satiate their egregious sexual appetite.
* Undeniably, the shocking incident left an indelible scar on the social order and became a burning societal issue. It would be no exaggeration or hyperbole to state that the shocking incident had ramifications which crossed the national borders into international terrain.
* The pain of an unparalleled order was inflicted upon her family members and her companion (the eye-witness), who were compelled to watch her die many deaths before being certified dead. What makes matters worse is that debauchery, avarice, profligacy and viciousness appear to be the only impelling forces behind the commission of the crime.
* It stands established beyond reasonable doubt that it is a case of gravest crime of extreme brutality by the convicts shocking the collective conscience of the society and clearly falls under the yardstick laid down by the apex court.
* The convicts, misusing the confidence and faith of the victim and her friend, made them board the bus so as to overpower them on the way and satisfy their lust. The crime was pre-planned and executed by resorting to diabolical method, exhibiting inhuman conduct in a ghastly manner.
* The crime rate against women has not decreased. Thus, awarding death penalty to the convicts may not have any deterrent effect on potential offenders.
* The cruel acts committed by the convicts are such that if appropriate sentence is not awarded, rage of the society would not be satisfied and our justice system would be rendered suspect.
* Any leniency shown in the matter would not only be misplaced but would give rise to a feeling of private revenge among the people leading to lawlessness in the society.
* After the incident, from common man to persons in power had only one demand i.e. justice for victim who succumbed to the injuries suffered at the hands of the convicts due to their barbaric acts. The crime was horrendous. Delhi earned the title of "Rape Capital".
* The luxury bus with dark window panes proved haven for the convicts to commit the gruesome act without bothering to find a suitable place to commit the rape and risking them to identification.
* A strong message needs to be sent to the perpetrators of grotesque and ghastly crimes against women that such crimes shall not be countenanced, though we confess that we are not aware of any case in which a crime of such dimensions has been committed hitherto before.
* Exemplary punishment is, therefore, the need of the hour, for, if this is not the rarest of rare cases there is likely to be none.