Supreme Court puts off execution of two men convicted of 2012 Delhi rape

NEW DELHI Mon Jul 14, 2014 7:32pm IST

A police bus carrying four men who were found guilty of the fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a bus, arrives at a court in New Delhi September 13, 2013.

CREDIT: REUTERS/ADNAN ABIDI/FILES

(Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the execution of two men convicted of the murder of a woman who was gang-raped and tortured on a bus in New Delhi, pending their appeal, their lawyer said, in a case that caused nationwide outrage. Gym instructor Vinay Sharma and bus cleaner Akshay Kumar Singh, along with two others, were convicted last year over the December 2012 attack. "The police and the prosecution have falsely implicated them in the case," defence lawyer A.P. Singh said, saying he planned to continue to argue for their acquittal.

In March, the Supreme Court put on hold the execution of two others convicted in the case - fruit-seller Pawan Gupta and unemployed Mukesh Singh - while they appealed. It is not unusual for legal cases to drag on for years in India while convicts appeal. The victim, who worked in a call centre while she studied, became a symbol of the daily dangers women face in a country where a rape is reported on average every 21 minutes and acid attacks and incidents of molestation are common. During the seven-month trial, a fifth defendant hanged himself in his cell. A sixth, who was under 18 at the time of the attack, was sentenced to three years' detention, the maximum allowed under juvenile law.

The minister for women and child development, Maneka Gandhi, told reporters on Sunday that juveniles accused of crimes such as rape and murder should be treated on a par with adult offenders. In response to the public outcry after the rape, the government fast-tracked tougher laws against sex crimes, but it resisted calls to change the law relating to juveniles under 18. 

(Reporting by Sruthi Gottipati and Suchitra Mohanty; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Janet Lawrence)

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/07/14/india-gangrape-idINKBN0FJ16T20140714 [last accessed 06.02.2015]

Nitish Katara's murder honour killing, warrants death penalty

Press Trust of India | New Delhi 

July 11, 2014 Last Updated at 18:58 IST

Nitish Katara's murder was a honour killing for which the three convicts, including UP politician D P Yadav's son Vikas, deserve death penalty, the victim's mother today told the Delhi High Court. "The trial court as well as this court have already held that this is a case of honour killing. I want to add one thing that the honour killing falls under the the rarest of rare category of cases warranting imposition of death penalty," the counsel for Neelam Katara told a bench of justices Gita Mittal and J R Midha. 

Concluding the arguments on the quantum of sentence, lawyer P K Dey said "the circumstances in which victim Nitish was killed entails award of death penalty, nothing less than this. One person was killed in such a brutal manner and later burnt. It is honour killing, which is the rarest of rare offence." Assailing the lower court's order, the lawyer said "it (the burning of body and subsequent actions) is not merely the destruction of evidence. It is total disregard to a human body. The incident is diabolic and shook the consciousness of the society." 

Seeking enhancement of the sentence, the counsel said the one of the convicts has committed eleven offences from 2002 to 2013 and they are not only criminal offences but amounted to interfering with the judicial administration. Though the trial court had held the murder as "honour killing", it did not give them death penalty saying imposition of life sentence would act as a deterrent, Dey said. 

"It may be true in other cases that life term is harsher punishment as a convict dies every minute in jail but not in this case where the convicts are economically and politically very strong and come out of jail within two or three years," he said. 

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/nitish-katara-s-murder-honour-killing-warrants-death-penalty-114071101082_1.html [last accessed 06.02.2015]

Nitish Katara murder case: Mother seeks death for convicts

Jul 04, 2014 at 07:52pm IST

Press Trust of India

New Delhi: The mother of Nitish Katara, who was abducted and killed in 2002, on Friday sought death penalty for the three convicts including UP politician DP Yadav's son Vikas saying they were a "menace to the society and there was no chance of their reformation or rehabilitation". Neelam Katara's counsel, during his arguments on the sentence before a special bench of justices Gita Mittal and JR Midha, said that the convicts have also committed several offences while remaining behind the bars, which showed no remorse and repentance on their part. "From 2002 to 2013, they (convicts) committed over eleven offences, which shows no remorse and repentance. They committed these offences while remaining in custody. This shows that there is no chance of their reformation and rehabilitation.

"I am placing material which prove they are a menace to the society and that itself will establish that there is no possibility of their reformation. So, the only option is death sentence," advocate PK Dey, appearing for Neelam, told the bench. Seeking enhancement of the sentence of life term to death penalty, the counsel argued the eleven offences committed by them are not only criminal in nature but it was a direct interference with the judicial administration. Referring to Vishal, the counsel said while remaining in jail, he and other convicts have threatened the prosecution and even tried to destroy the evidence in the case, which suggests Vishal has no remorse and repentance.

Dey argued the convicts have committed the crime of honour killing which comes under the category of the "rarest of rare" and they can neither be reformed nor rehabilitated as they are habitual offenders. The arguments which remained inconclusive will continue on July 11. During the hearing, Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA) OSD SS Rathi, who was asked by the high court to enquire about the convicts' capacity to pay compensation to the victims or their families, gave the report. Rathi in his report said the "total expenditure incurred on this case by the exchequer is Rs 5.86 crores". Giving details of the expenses, Rathi said that the then Special Public Prosecutor B S Joon in the case has apprised that the cost of investigation in the matter was around Rs two lakh in the year 2002.

"As such, the total approximate cost from the prosecution department side comes to Rs 46.71 lakh. Total expenditure in the Witness Protection head comes to Rs 3.89 crores till date. "Total expenditure incurred by District Judiciary as well as High Court registry is estimated to be Rs 73-74 lakh. All expenses incurred by the Jail Administration in providing boarding and lodging of accused/convicts is Rs 35.60 lakh," the report reads. It said the expenses incurred in transportation, security and manpower for the three convicts from jail to court/hospitals during trial and thereafter is Rs 39.95 lakh. In pursuance of a Supreme Court order, the Delhi High Court had said three convicts will have to pay compensation to the family of Nitish.

The apex court had in a landmark verdict in Ankush Shivaji Gaikwad Vs UOI case, said that under Section 357 of the Criminal Procedure Code, courts dealing with criminal offences are bound to consider granting compensation to the victims or their families. Vikas, Vishal and Sukhdev Pehalwan are serving life term for abducting and killing Nitish Katara, a business executive and son of an IAS officer, on the intervening night of February 16-17, 2002. They did not approve of the victim's affair with Bharti, daughter of DP Yadav. The High Court had on April 2 upheld the verdict of the lower court in the case by describing the offence as "honour killing" stemming from a "deeply entrenched belief" in caste system.

Nitish Katara was abducted and killed by Vikas, his cousin Vishal Yadav and co-convict Sukhdev Pehalwan as they did not approve of victim's affair with Bharti, daughter of DP Yadav, as they belong to different castes, the court had said. The high court had dismissed the appeals of the convicts and kept pending two separate pleas of the state and Neelam Katara seeking death penalty for them.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/nitish-katara-murder-case-mother-seeks-death-for-convicts/483753-3-244.html [last accessed 06.02.2015]

Indian SC stays killer Ikhwani’s execution

Srinagar, July 05 (KMS): The Supreme Court of India has stayed the execution of death sentence of an Ikhwani (government gunman) who was awarded lifer by a court of occupied Kashmir for murdering five persons, including four of a family, in north Kashmir in 1997.A Division Bench of the apex court comprising Justices Dipak Misra and V Gopala Gowda stayed the death sentence of Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Wani.

According to the case details, Wani, who was working with Indian army, had barged into the house of Mohammad Yousuf Ganai at village Vilkal in Kupwara on March 16, 1997, and opened indiscriminate fire on the inmates. Yousuf Ganai, his wife and two children were killed in the firing. Wani had then barged into another house in the neighbourhood and shot dead a policeman, Mohammad Ishaq. He was convicted by the Kupwara Sessions Court in August 2009 and sentenced to death.

Subsequently, he had filed an appeal against the judgment before the High Court of occupied Kashmir that had upheld the verdict of Kupwara Sessions Court. Later, he had moved the Indian Supreme Court against it.

Source: http://www.kmsnews.org/news/2014/07/05/indian-sc-stays-killer-ikhwanis-execution.html [last accessed 06.02.2015]

SC commutes death sentence of 26-year-old youth

Press Trust of India | New Delhi 

July 3, 2014 Last Updated at 21:35 IST

The Supreme Court today commuted the death sentence of a 26-year-old youth to life term for killing a woman and her son saying that the convict is an educated person so there are chances of his reform. A bench of Justices H L Dattu and S J Mukhopadhayacommuted the death awarded to Santosh Kumar Singh on the ground that the case does not fall within the realms of "rarest of the rare category". "It is true that the accused has committed a heinous crime, but it cannot be held with certainty that this case falls in the rarest of the rare category. 

"On appreciation of evidence on record and keeping in mind the facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the view that sentence of death penalty would be extensive and unduly harsh," the bench said. "Accordingly, we commute the death sentence of appellant to life imprisonment. The conviction and rest part of the sentence are affirmed," the bench said. The bench noted that the accused was a tutor in the family and was known to every member of the household and there is nothing specific to suggest the motive for committing the crime except the articles and cash taken away by him. Further, it said, "It is not the case of the prosecution that the appellant cannot be reformed or that the accused is a social menace. Apart from the incident in question there is no criminal antecedent of the appellant. 

According to police, Santosh was known to the family of one Gulam Mohd as he used to come to their house to teach the children. On May 7, 2010, he came to their house in Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh and returned after sometime and attacked Gulam's wife and their children with an iron hammer. Thereafter, he looted cash and jewellery from their house. The woman died on the spot while their son succumbed to injuries later. The trial court had awarded death sentence to Santosh and the sentence was also upheld by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/sc-commutes-death-sentence-of-26-year-old-youth-114070301263_1.html [last accessed 06.02.2015]

HC upholds death penalty to minor's rapist-killer

TNN | Jul 3, 2014, 09.58AM IST BHOPAL:

Madhya Pradesh high court has upheld death sentence awarded to Vijay Raikwar of Sagar district, who is charged with rape and murder of a 7-year old girl. In the judgment, court of Justice Ajit Singh and Justice N K Gupta said the act was not only heinous but is shameful for entire humanity. On December 7, 2012 naked body of the girl was found in Rehli. 

The girl who was sister of the accused's friend came to Raikwar's house to play with her companion when, Raikwar lured her with a coin and took her to a separate room and raped her. After the act, Raikwar strangulated her to conceal his act. The coin which was given by Raikwar was also found along with the body of the girl, prosecution sources said.

Injury marks were found on the body and DNA samples taken from the body matched with Raikwar's DNA, said prosecution sources. Accused was booked under Section 302 and Section 376 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act. In December last year court of additional sessions judge, Devraj Bohare had sentenced him with capital punishment.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/HC-upholds-death-penalty-to-minors-rapist-killer/articleshow/37685130.cms [last accessed 06.02.2015]

Death sentence suggested for guilty in child sex abuse cases

Press Trust of India  |  Salem  

June 28, 2014 Last Updated at 21:38 IST

 Tamil Nadu Minister for Highways and Minor Ports Edapadi Palaniswamy today advocated the death sentence for those found guilty in child sexual abuse cases. 

Speaking at a function here, he said those charged with the crime would not be allowed to go on bail and the remand period would be for a minium period of 30 days. All necessary help would be provided to the victims, he said. 

The minister distributed gold thalis worth Rs five crore to 1,800 persons and sewing machines to seven persons under a government scheme.

Source: 

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/death-sentence-suggested-for-guilty-in-child-sex-abuse-cases-114062800759_1.html [last accessed 06.02.2015
]