Summary
In the 2017 appeals concerning the December 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, the Court affirmed the death sentences. The majority weighed the mitigation affidavits against the exceptionally brutal crime and found the aggravating circumstances outweighed mitigation. The separate concurrence agreed that the case met the rarest-of-rare threshold. This headnote is confined to the final sentencing determination.
Issues
- Whether the mitigation advanced warranted replacing the death sentences in these appeals.
Held
- The majority considered age, family circumstances, conduct in custody, claimed transformation and prospects of rehabilitation. After weighing those matters against the proven manner of the crime, it upheld the High Court’s confirmation of death sentences. (¶ Misra J: 354–357)
- The concurrence likewise considered the circumstances advanced and concluded that alternative punishment was unquestionably foreclosed in this particular case. (¶ Banumathi J: 138–146)
Result
Appeals dismissed; death sentences affirmed in the 5 May 2017 judgment.