Nirbhaya Rape: Complete case study

16th December 2012

Six men brutally gang-raped a 23-year-old physiotherapy student at night on a moving bus. One of them tortured her by inserting an iron rod inside her private parts and he pulled out her intestine. They also beat her friend who tried to save her and threw both of them out of the bus naked in a pathetic condition. 

Somehow she was taken to the hospital and after 11days  of her assault following a cardiac arrest, the government decided to transfer her to Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth hospital.

On 29th December 2012 at 2:15 am with injuries and other medical complications the victim succumbed, sayingthe last words, “burn those rapists alive”. The police expanded murder charges in FIR againstrapists. This shocking incident paved the way for nation-wide protests, screaming for harsher measures against rape and speedy disposal of such cases. Despite Best efforts made to revive the victim, Nirbhaya (the name given to the victim by media) passed away on December 29, 2012. Overall, six men named Ram Singh, Akshay Kumar Singh, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, and a juvenile were identified as accused.

3rd January 2013: The police filed a charge sheet against the adults accused of offenses constituting murder, gang rape, attempt to murder, kidnapping, unnatural offenses, and dacoity, etc.

17th January 2013: Fast Track Court started proceedings against five adult accused.

11th March 2013:TheFifth convict Ram Singh committed suicide in Tihar Jail, Delhi.

22nd March 2013:Delhi HC allowed national media to broadcast the trial court’s proceeding.

31st August  2013: JJB convicted the minor for gangrape and murder and gave him three years phrase at a probate home.

13th September 2013: The FTC awarded the death penalty to all 4 convicts.

23rd September 2013: HC began hearing the convict’s death sentence reference sent to it by the trial court.

29th January 2014:- Supreme Court dismissed the transfer petition.

13th March 2014: HC upheld the death penalty to the 4 convicts.

15th March 2014: Supreme Court stated the execution of the accused after allegations of a denial of a fair trial.

18th December 2015:-Delhi High Court refused to release the minor accused, who walks free after three years in a juvenile home.

3rd April 2016:-Hearing begun in the Supreme Court, after 19 months of being in the frigid hold.

8th April 2016: Senior Advocate Raju Ramachandran and Sanjay Hegde appointed Amicus Curiae.

29th August 2016:-High drama in the courtroom as an allegation of the police tampering with evidence becomes a Scenario.

2nd September 2016:- Advocate M.L. Sharma concluded his submissions.

7th November 2016:-Senior Advocate and Amicus CuriaeRaju Ramachandran had made his submissions, arguing for the sentencing order to be set aside.

28th November 2016:- Senior Advocate and Amicus Curiae Sanjay Hegde argued against the reliability of evidence in the case.

6th January 2017:- Supreme Court investigated mitigating circumstances from the accused.

3rd February 2017: The Supreme Court decided to re-hear the case on the sentencing aspect after the petitioners insisted that there had been violations in the procedure.

6th March 2017:All the accused submitted additional affidavits in the Court.

27th March 2017:The Supreme Court leased the conclusion after nearly a year of hearing the case.

5th  May 2017: The Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court’s verdicts in the famous 2012 Delhi Gang-rape case.

8th Nov 2017: Mukesh filed a review petition in SC.

15th December 2017:Vinay and Pawan moved to SC for review of its verdict.

9th July 2018:SC disarmed review petition of Mukesh, Pawan, and Vinay.

13th December 2018:Nirbhaya’s parents moved to Patiala House court seeking to hasten the execution of the convict.

8th November 2019:Vinay Sharma filed a mercy petition to the Delhi government.

29th November 2019: Home department of the Delhi government rejected Vinay Sharma’s mercy petition and forwarded the file to the chief secretary.

30th November 2019: Chief secretary rejected it and moved the file towards Home minister Satyendra Jain.

1st December 2019:Jain rejected it and forwarded it to LG’s office.

2nd December 2019:LG rejected the mercy plea of Vinay and had given clearance to Delhi government decisions.

6th  December 2019: MHA sent to President, Delhi government recommendation rejecting Vinay’s mercy plea.

10th December 2019:Akshay filed a review petition in Supreme Court.

17th December 2019:CJI refused to hear a review plea.

18th December 2019: The Supreme Court rejected the review petition, all the four rape-accused finalized to be hanged. The court asked to wait for the copy of the SC judgement and then adjourned the hearing till January 7, 2020.

7th January 2020: Trial court signed death ‘black’ warrants for all four convicts, dated to be hanged on January 22, 2020 (7 am).

14th January 2020: SC rejected the curative petition of Vinay and Mukesh; Mukesh filed a mercy petition before the President.

17th January 2020: President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh; the trial court issued death warrants again with the execution date as of February 1, 2020 (6:00 am).

25th January 2020: Mukesh moved to SC against the rejection of the mercy plea.

29th January 2020: Akshay approached SC with a curative petition; SC rejected the plea of Mukesh questioning the rejection of his mercy plea.

30th January 2020: SC dismissed the curative plea of Akshay.

31st January 2020: SC dismissed a plea filed by Pawan seeking review of its order rejecting his juvenile claim; the trial court postponed the execution of the black warrants until further order for a second time.

1st February 2020: Centre moved Delhi HC against the trial court order.

5th February 2020: Delhi HC dismissed Centre’s plea against the trial court order, saying all four convicts have to be hanged together; it further directed the convicts to pursue all legal remedies within a week, failing which the authorities then ordered them to take action in accordance with the law.

6th February 2020: President rejected the mercy petition of Akshay.

7th February 2020: Trial court dismissed Tihar’s plea seeking a fresh date for the execution of convicts.

11th February 2020: Vinay moved to SC against mercy plea rejection; SC issued notices to all four death row convicts on Centre’s appeal against Delhi HC verdict.

13th February 2020: Vinay alleged torture in jail, SC reserved order on his mercy review; SC deferred hearing on separate hangings and appointed a new lawyer for Pawan.

14th February 2020: SC dismissed Vinay’s plea against no mercy, rejecting the argument of mental illness.

17th February 2020: Trial court issued March 3 execution date.

22nd February 2020: Trial court dismissed Vinay’s plea for medical treatment28th February 2020: Pawan filed a curative petition in SC.

2nd March 2020: SC dismisses PIL seeking advice on organ donation by the four death row convicts; Patiala House court dismisses the plea by convicts for a stay on death warrant; Pawan files a mercy plea after the rejection of the curative petition by SC a day before scheduled hanging.

3rd March 2020: For the third time, the trial court deferred the hanging of the four death row convicts.

4th March 2020: Delhi government moved the court seeking a fresh date for execution for convicts; Pawan’s mercy plea rejected.

5th March  2020: Trial court signed up death warrants for March 20 (5:30 am).

7th March 2020: SC rejected Mukesh’s plea seeking an urgent hearing on Monday.

13th March 2020: Vinay moved to Delhi HC claiming procedural setback in mercy plea rejection.

16th March 2020: Convicts moved to the International Court of Justice (ICJ); SC dismissed Mukesh’s plea to refile the curative, mercy petition.

17th March 2020: Akshay wrote a second mercy plea to the President after the first was rejected; the trial court dismissed Mukesh’s plea seeking to question the death penalty.

18th March 2020: Convicts’ adviser AP Singh proceeded to Delhi’s Patiala House court striving a stay on the death warrants on March 18; Delhi HC leased order on Mukesh’s plea claiming absence from Delhi at the time of the incident.

19th March 2020: Supreme Court dismissed the petition of death row convicted Pawan against the rejection of his mercy plea by the President and seeking a stay on execution; Delhi High Court dismissed a plea challenging the lower court’s refusal to keep up death warrants.

20th March 2020: Delhi HC dismissed the plea of three convicts seeking a stay on execution, convicts moved to SC. In a pre-dawn hearing, SC pulls the curtains down on the case by rejecting the plea of Pawan Gupta against the rejection of his second mercy plea.

All four convicts were hanged till death in Tihar jail at 5.30 am.