Timeline of Nirbhaya gang-rape case: Supreme Court upholds death sentence to 4 convicts

Supreme Court on 5 May upheld the Delhi High Court order of death sentence to the four convicts - Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay Sharma and Akshay Kumar Singh - in the December 16, 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case.

The top court termed the incident as barbaric and said, 'taking the serious injuries, the severe nature of offence committeed by the convicts, we are upholding the sentence.'

Lawyer of convicts, AP Singh said that the justice has been denied.

"Justice not done, we will file review petition after reading the order," he said.

"Samaaj mein message dene ke liye kisi ko phansi nahi de sakte, human rights ki dhajiyaan udd gayi," he added. (Just to deliver a message to society, it is not apt to get someone hanged.)

Nirbhaya's father expressed happiness over the verdict and told ANI that, "It's a victory for my family,I am very happy with the judgement."

The Supreme Court bench was headed by Justices Dipak Misra, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.

While Delhi Police had sought capital punishment for the convicts, the defence counsel had said they deserved leniency considering their poor family background and young age.

The police had told the bench that the horrific crime committed by these men warranted death penalty and the test of being a "rarest of rare" case was satisfied in this matter and the court should also consider the effect of crime committed by them on the victim and the society at large.

Time-line of the case:

December 16, 2012: 23-year-old paramedic was brutally assaulted and gang-raped by six persons in a moving bus in south Delhi and thrown out of the vehicle with her male friend on the night. They were taken to Safdarjung hospital for treatment.

December 17, 2012: Four accused - ram Singh, Mukesh, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta - were identified by the police.

December 18, 2012: Four accused were arrested.

December 29, 2012: Nirbhaya died in a Singapore hospital.

March 11, 2013: Prime accused Ram Singh commits suicide in Tihar jail.

August 31, 2013: Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) presided over by principal district magistrate Geetanjali Goel observed that juvenile accused was guilty of rape and murder of the medical student. He was sentenced to 3 years in special home.

September 13, 2013: 4 remaining accused were sentenced to death by additional sessions judge Yogesh Khanna.

March 13, 2014: Delhi High Court bench of justices Reva Khetrapal and Pratibha Rani awarded death penalty to convicts.

March 15, 2014: Supreme Court stays execution following allegations that the accused didn't get a fair trial.

December 18, 2015: Delhi High Court refused to stay release of the juvenile accused. He walked free after serving three years in a juvenile home.

April 3, 2016: Hearing of case begins in the Supreme Court. Justices Dipak Misra, V Gopala Gowda and Kurian Joseph to preside the hearing.
April 8, 2016: Senior Advocates Raju Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde were appointed as amicus curiae.

July 11, 2016: The bench hearing the Nirbhaya case changed as Justices Dipak Misra, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan took over.

September 2, 2016: Defence advocate ML Sharma concludes his submissions.

September 16, 2016: Former DCP (Delhi) Chaya Sharma attended the hearing. She was transferred to Mizoram after the Delhi gang-rape case.

November 7, 2016: Amicus curae Raju Ramachandran made his submissions in court. He argued for the sentencing order to be set aside.

February 3, 3017: Supreme Court decided to re-hear the case on the sentencing aspect. The top court bench prima facie agreed with the contention of Ramachandran that the provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), relating to sentencing of convicts, has not been followed in letter and spirit by the trial court.

March 6, 2017: The accused submitted additional affidavits to the court.

March 27, 2017: The apex court reserved its verdict on the appeals of four convicts against the conviction and death penalty.

- - With PTI input