2012 Delhi gangrape case: 'My daughter has got justice,' says victim's mother; hope death warrant will act as deterrent, say politicos

Soon after a Delhi court issued death warrants to the four accused in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case, politicians and activists welcomed the court order. A Delhi court issued the order on Tuesday, setting 22 January, 7 am, as the date and time to carry out the death penalty given to the four convicts — Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) — in the case. The convicts will be hanged in Tihar jail, the court said. Asha Devi, the mother of 23-year-old Jyoti Singh, who was gangraped in a moving bus, said that the decision will strengthen people’s trust in the judicial system, flashing the victory sign along with lawyers outside Patiala House Courts in New Delhi. “My daughter has got justice. The execution of the four convicts will empower the women of the country. This decision will strengthen the trust of people in the judicial system,” she told ANI.__ [caption id=“attachment_7873601” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Asha Devi, mother of the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case, outside Patiala House Courts in New Delhi. PTI[/caption] Badrinath Singh, the father of the victim, said that the order is likely to instill fear in people who commit such crimes. “I am happy with the court’s decision. This decision will instill fear in people who commit such crimes,” he said. The 23-year-old paramedic student was gangraped and brutally assaulted on the intervening night of 16-17 December, 2012, inside a moving bus in south Delhi by six persons before being thrown out on the road. She died on 29 December, 2012, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. Welcoming the order, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “I hope people who misbehave with women learn from this that they will not be spared.” Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal also welcomed the decision, hailing the death warrant as a win for all gangrape victims in the country. “I salute the victim’s parents who fought for seven long years. Why has it taken seven years to punish these people? Why can’t this time period be reduced?” she said. Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia termed the order as a victory of law. “The whole country had been waiting for this (hanging of 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder convicts); it is a victory of law,” Sisodia told PTI. Manisha Gulati, chairperson of Punjab Women Commission said, “It is a very good decision and I respect it. Now the soul of the 2012 Delhi gangrape victim will rest in peace. Today every daughter in the country has got justice.” The Congress, which was in power in Delhi at the time the incident had taken place, also welcomed the issuance of death warrants against the four convicts saying it would give peace to her family and the country but rued the delay in justice delivery. Welcoming the order, Congress spokesperson Sushmita Dev told PTI, “I feel justice delayed is justice denied. After changing so many laws, after the Verma committee report, still, it took seven years.” “I heard somewhere that the government has said it will remove the right to appeal in a seriously heinous crime. I feel right to appeal should not be totally done away with… but even in appellate jurisdiction, in a serious crime like the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder, it should be time-bound,” the Mahila Congress chief said. She said Tuesday’s ruling would give peace to victim’s family and the country. G Kishan Reddy, MoS Home said that with the death warrants, the wait for justice is over. “It’s not about the execution of convicts, but the decision shows that there should be zero tolerance for such crimes. Judgement should be delivered at earliest,” he said. Case under pressure since the beginning, says convicts’ lawyer Meanwhile, the convicts’ lawyers AP Singh said that they will file a curative petition in the Supreme Court against the order. “We will file a curative petition in SC within a day or two. Five seniormost judges of the SC will hear it,” he said. Singh also alleged that an unbiased probe was not carried out in the case due to pressure. “There has been the pressure of media, public and political pressure in this case since the beginning. An unbiased probe could not take place in this case,” he said. The death warrants will be executed at 7 am on 22 January in Tihar jail. According to ANI, Tihar Jail officials have written to the UP Prisons Department to seek the service of a hangman and to inform them about the date and time of execution of all four convicts as decided by the court today. The four convicts have 14 days to go for legal remedies, which include filing a mercy petition to the President of India and a curative petition, the Delhi court order said. With inputs from agencies