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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

By REUTERS

The mother, left wearing saree, of the victim of the fatal 2012 gang rape that shook India, arrives at a temporary shrine dedicated to her daughter at a protest in New Delhi, India, on Monday, December 21, 2015. Photo: AP

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.'
 
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