Politicos hail SC judgement in Nirbhaya case

The leaders of different political parties have hailed the Supreme Court decision to uphold the death sentence awarded to the rapists and murderers of Nirbhaya.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shaina NC said that no lesser punishment could have provided justice to Nirbhaya.

"The justice could have only been done with a death sentence which is hanged unto death. I am sure that in the days to come the Supreme Court will expedite other such cases when it comes to rape and gruesome murder," she said.

"After this judgement, a rapist will think 100 times before committing such heinous crime," added the BJP leader.

The Janata Dal (United) leader K.C. Tyagi also welcomed the decision, which according to him came a bit late.

"Now, the Nirbhya's rapists have got the capital punishment. I welcome the decision which came late but it is a right judgement," Tyagi told ANI.

Congress leader PL Punia too welcomed the judgement and said that death sentence awarded to the rapists of Nirbhaya gives a message that the women have the right to be protected against all forms of suppression.

"I welcome the decision. The Congress President Sonia Gandhi clearly termed Nirbhaya as a symbol of women's rights," Punia told ANI.

The apex court upheld the High Court's order of death sentence of the four convicts involved in the December 16, 2012 gang rape case.

The matter was heard by the apex court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra and consisting of Justices R. Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.

The convicts - Akshay, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh- had challenged the Delhi High Court order which had sentenced them to the gallows.

Earlier, the trial court had also sentenced all the four convicts to death penalty.

In December 16, 2012, six people gang raped a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in a moving bus. The woman succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.

One of the accused, Ram Singh hanged himself in prison, while another person, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, was convicted in August last year and will serve the maximum sentence of three years in a reform home.