Dec16 case verdict will be deterrent for sexual offences: Cong

Congress today said the death sentence awarded to four convicts in the December 16 gangrape case will act as a deterrent against incidents of brutality against women and provide "some solace" to family members of the victim.
At the same time, party spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary made it clear that this should not be seen as any endorsement by the Congress of "death penalty per se," as judgement in this case and death penalty are two separate issues.
"No, no obviously not. This is not about death sentence per se. This is actually a rarest of the rare case. It's not that we have any collective opinion on death sentence..." she said, but parried questions on whether Congress welcomed the judgement or not.

"I don't think that we are welcoming or turning away (from death sentence issue). We are only reaching out to the family (of the victim)," she said.
All India Mahila Congress chief Shobha Jha, however, hailed the judiciary for the order, saying, "With this decision, there will definitely be a check on the incidents of torture against women. Women will be able to move freely out of their houses. People will again be able to have their faith in police and judiciary."
She said the judiciary had given a speedy judgement within a timeframe, which was a welcome step.