New Delhi, July 9: The Supreme Court on Monday has upheld death sentence for the convicts of Delhi gangrape of December 16, 2012. The three-judge bench headed by Chief justice pronounced the judgment on the petitions filed by three convicts. The bench also comprised of justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan. The apex court said that there were no grounds to reconsider the verdict of May 5, 2017.  The bench noted that the convicts could not be allowed to re-argue their case under the garb of review petition. The convicts can now file curative petition.

Three convicts   Mukesh (29), Pawan Gupta (22) and Vinay Sharma (23) had filed petitions against their death sentence. The 31-year-old fourth convict Akshay Kumar Singh has not filed any plea. The fifth accused Ram Singh committed suicide in the Tihar Jail, while a juvenile justice board convicted the juvenile accused. He later released from a reformation centre after serving three-year-term.

The apex court upheld Delhi High Court’s death sentence awarded to the four convicts for raping and then murdering 23-year-old paramedical student. Talking to media after the verdict, the mother of the victim, Asha Devi has expressed happiness over the judgment. She said that she will continue the  fight till the culprits are hanged. Devi also has also thanked Indian judicial system for upholding the death sentence for the convicts.

Rekha Sharma, Chairman of National Commission for Women has also welcomed the decision. Sharma said, "I welcome this decision as it proves justice can be delayed but not denied. It's a landmark decision. This judgement shows that law takes its own course in this country."

The victim was gang-raped on the night of December 16, 2012, by six persons inside a moving bus. She then brutally assaulted before throwing her on the road. The victim later succumbed to injuries on December 29, 2012, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 09, 2018 02:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).