The trail lasted for nearly nine months and all the accused were convicted. Though the prime accused Ram Singh hung himself while under custody, other four were handed over death sentence on Friday (13 August) after the final arguments were done on Wednesday (11 August). All four were awarded death sentence under section 302 of IPC (Indian Penal Code) for murder. Reading out the statement in open court, Justice Yogesh Khanna, Additional Sessions judge for the special fast track court hearing this case said, “The increasing trend of crimes against women can be arrested only once the society realize that there will be no tolerance from any form of deviance against women and more so in extreme cases of brutality such as the present one and hence the criminal justice system must instill confidence in the minds of people, especially women”. He even labeled this crime as “hair raising beastly and unparalleled behavior”.



Death penalty is not abolished in India; however, it is awarded in the ‘rarest of rare’ cases. Expressing anguish over the inhuman torture of the victim by the convicts, Justice Yogesh Khanna read out the sentence for the four convicts. Justice Yoegsh Khanna ordered the convicts to be hung until death, while delivering the judgment. A few days back, the juvenile in this case was awarded a term of three years by the Juvenile Justice Board (According to Indian laws the name of juvenile convicts must not be revealed). He was 17 years old while committing the crime. This had also sparked some protests and many, including the victim’s parents, claimed it to be a very lenient sentence for someone guilty of such a heinous crime.



Over the past months debates have ensued regarding death penalty. Many have questioned its rate of deterrence and said despite putting it into effect crime rates have not gone down. Even the Justice Verma committee voiced against death penalty, stating it was not a proven deterrent to heinous crimes. However, the crux of this issue is not about death penalty, but about the safety of women in the country. In a place where women are revered and worshipped in the forms of goddesses, such crimes against women do not depict a healthy scenario. There is also an issue of underreporting of rape and other forms of assault against women. It is high time the government ensure easy reportage of crimes is made possible for the victims. Also on the flip side, if at all stringent measures are taken to curb violence against women, steps must also be taken to prevent the misuse of such provisions.

