India's top court upholds death penalty in 2012 Delhi gang rape case
India's top court upholds death penalty in 2012 Delhi gang rape case
Published: 03:06 pm May 05, 2017
NEW DELHI: India's top court on Friday upheld death sentences against four men who fatally gang raped a woman on board a bus in 2012, a crime that sparked widespread protests and drew international attention to violence against women.
'It's a barbaric crime and it has shaken the society's conscience,' Justice R Banumathi told a packed courtroom as the three-judge Supreme Court panel threw out an appeal on behalf of the defendants.
The five men and a juvenile lured the 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist and her male friend on to a minibus in New Delhi on December 16, 2012, repeatedly raping the woman and beating both with a metal bar before dumping them on a road.
The woman died of grave internal injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.
Applause broke out in court among relatives of the victim - whose identity is protected by law - as judges explained that the crime met the 'rarest of the rare' standard to justify capital punishment in India.
'I am very satisfied. Today I am happy,' the victim's mother said. Her father said: 'It's not just a victory for my family, it's a victory for each and every woman in our country.'