The Supreme Court (SC) has almost culminated the horrific December 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case trial by confirming the death sentence on the three accused. The gory happening shook the nation to propel the government to constitute the Justice JS Verma Committee for an overhaul of the criminal justice system. The SC has dismissed the review petition of the three accused, while the fourth one chose not to appeal with others. One of the accused committed suicide while undergoing the sentence and the other juvenile is out after serving sentence.
The SC relied on the facts that there cannot be a re-hearing on the merits of the case especially after the trial court had laboriously and scrupulously examined all issues for thirty eight days. Thereafter, the Delhi High Court found no reasons to tamper with the special court’s reasonings. The arguments of the accused hinged on the futility of death penalty in India, inefficient investigation of the Delhi police and “erroneous” dying declaration. The SC would have none of it and thereby, the “rarest of rare” dictum was upheld. Earlier, in May 2017, the SC had turned down the appeal of the accused.
The SC has used words like “savage” and “sadistic” in its 2017 verdict to indicate its mind. Obviously, the SC bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice R Banumathi and Justice Ashok Bhushan concurred with their brother judges. Now, apparently a “curative” petition will be filed by the rusticated and then there will be the question of “Presidential mercy”. All this will take its own time, and the case which was “fast tracked” will take some time to reach a logical conclusion.
The family of the victim have expressed their happiness over the verdict but they will heave a sigh of relief only after the accused are hanged till death. Whether or not death penalty in India needs a relook may wait for another day. The shrill cries of some activists that sending a person to gallows will not act as a deterrent for future offenders can also debated later.
The government should spare no efforts to expedite the final stages of the case. The review petition of another accused should disposed off swiftly. Justice delayed is justice denied, and the Nirbhaya case should serve as an example for other such cases. The words “fast track” should literally live up to their meaning to restore people’s faith in the courts.
