The V Additional City Civil and Sessions Court on Friday gave a life term till death to six of the eight accused in the gang-rape of a law student at the Bangalore University campus on October 13 last year.
Judge Krishnamurthy B Sangannavar said in his order: “Maddura (20), Doddirayya (19), Shivanna (20), Irayya (20), Yeleayya (23) and Rama (24) of the Iruliga tribe and residents of Dasegowdana Doddi in Ramanagaram taluk are found guilty. They are convicted and sentenced to a life term.’’
The judge also directed the Injuries Compensation Board of Karnataka to pay adequate compensation to the victim, considering the mental and physical trauma she underwent due to the sexual assault.
“Since the offenders are poor, the board should pay the compensation for her welfare,’’ the judge said.
A seventh accused, Raja (24), is absconding. The eighth accused is a minor whose case is before the juvenile justice court.
The victim, a National Law School of India University student, was sitting with her friend in a car on the Jnanabharathi campus.
The eight accused reportedly smashed the car windows, attacked her friend and dragged her to an isolated part of the campus and gang-raped her.
Public prosecutor Sanjay Kumar Venkataramana Bhat told Express that the prosecution appealed to the court to award compensation to the victim under the new scheme of Section 357 (A) of the CrPC and also award maximum punishment to the accused.
After the gang-rape and murder of a paramedical student in New Delhi on December 16 and nationwide protests, the law was amended in February this year.
The new amendment, however, did not apply to the Jnanabharathi case as the incident took place earlier.
All the six convicts were present at the court for the sentencing, after which they were sent to the Central Prison in Parappana Agrahara.
The advocate for the accused had submitted to the court that some of his clients were unmarried and orphaned, while others had children and parents to look after.
He had sought a lesser sentence on those grounds.
However, no family member came to the trial from June 28 to August 2, during the hearings.
This case created judicial history by being the fastest to reach the verdict stage, with just 13 sittings.