Gangrape of the Medical Intern on 16th December 2012

                        For & against Death Penalty for Gang Rape and Murder.

Most of us are familiar with 16^th December 2012, the day when the life of a young Medical intern almost ended, as she was gang - raped, bruised, abused and left for dead with no clothes on, when she was thrown from a moving bus. On the night of December 16, last year, Ram Singh, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan, Mukesh and the juvenile had gang-raped the girl in a bus after luring her and her 28-year-old male friend, who was also assaulted, on board the vehicle, which was later found to be plying illegally on Delhi roads. She bravely battled for her life for nearly 2 weeks but the internal injuries and the physical abuse she had suffered had destroyed her organs. We have heard of rape and gangrape but this incident was heinous more specifically because of the abuse that was metted out to her and the brutality and inhuman nature of the crime shook the whole of India and brought the men and women out on the street to demand justice. Social Media played its part in putting some kind of pressure on the politicians. Helpline for women were set up and various applications were formulated for assistance of women on Andriod and Apple devices.

A fast – track court was set up to try the accused who were all arrested by the police. Gym instructor Vinay Sharma, bus cleaner Akshay Thakur, fruit-seller Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh, who were found guilty in all 13 charges, including murder and rape, were given death sentence by judge Yogesh Khanna today. Out of the six men arrested in the case, Ram Singh committed suicide inside Tihar Jail. Another accused, who was 17 at the time of the crime, was sent to reform home for three years by a juvenile court.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 is the primary legal framework for Juvenile Justice in India. The Act provides for a special approach towards the prevention and treatment of Juvenile Delinquency and provides a framework for the protection, treatment and rehabilitation of children in the purview of the juvenile justice system. This law, brought in compliance of Child Rights Convention 1989, repealed the earlier Juvenile Justice Act of 1986 after India signed and ratified Child Rights Convention 1989 in year 1992. This Act has been further amended in year 2006 and 2010. Government of India is once again contemplating bringing further amendments and a review committee has been constituted by Ministry of Women and Child Development which is reviewing the existing legislation. Recent 16 December 2012 Gang rape incident in Delhi has raised a popular demand for amending this law to allow harsher punishments to children involved in serious offences. The police have time and time again alleged that repeat offenders misuse the provisions of this act and get away with very little or no punishment.

On Friday 13th September 2013 nearly 9 months after the incident On Friday, Judge Khanna said the attack "shocked the collective conscience" of India, and that "courts cannot turn a blind eye" to such crimes. "This case definitely falls in the rarest of rare categories and warrants the exemplary punishment of death," he added. "In these times when crimes against women are on rise, we cannot turn a blind eye towards such gruesome crime, we need to send a message that it will not be tolerated," the judge said. The men were convicted to death by hanging.

This was one of the fastest cases on the circuit both for the police as well as the judiciary.

A brief look at the case timeline will evidence the same:

16 December 2012: Student gang raped on Delhi bus

17 December: Bus driver Ram Singh and three others arrested

21-22 December: Two more arrests, including a minor

29 December: Victim dies in Singapore hospital

21 January: Trial of five of the accused begins in special fast-track court - they   later     plead not  guilty

28 February: Sixth accused charged in juvenile court

11 March: Ram Singh found dead in Tihar jail

31 August: Juvenile found guilty and given three-year term in reform facility

10 September: Four men found guilty by a Delhi court

13 September: Death penalty verdicts issued

The death penalty to the rapists who were also accused of murdering the girl, since she died of wounds inflicted on her in the course of the gang rape sparked off another round of debate, those in favour said it would act as a deterrent and would teach the men a lesson as they would think twice before doing the same to another woman. However, such was not the case. The reports of such gangrapes and rapes kept on pouring in throughout the country, not just in Delhi but also Mumbai.

"Sending these four men to the gallows will accomplish nothing except short-term revenge," said Tara Rao, Director of Amnesty International India.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch's South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly told the BBC: "The punishment of perpetrators is important but equally working together as a society to keep women safe is much, much more important."

While on this subject A jury has recommended the death penalty for a 28-year-old man convicted of raping and killing an 84-year-old widow in Santana. The jury made its recommendation in an Orange County courtroom Monday. Anthony Darnell Wade was found guilty in September of murder, rape, torture and other charges in the death of Bessie Mae Whyman. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 12 2013.

In October 2013 the district court in Rajsamand awarded death penalty to a man for raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl nine months ago. Sessions judge Chandra Shekhar said the 24-year old convict, Manoj Pratap Singh, had committed the ghastly act of "brutally killing a helpless and mentally challenged" child after raping her.

As of now the convicts in the Delhi gangrape and murder are appealing against the death penalty to the Delhi High Court. The entire nation waits with bated breath as to what the outcome of these convicts is going to be.