December 16 verdict: Nation erupts in 'joy' as SC upholds death for rapists
December 16, 2012-May 5, 2017.
For almost five years, many people closely following the brutal gangrape case were ambivalent about its outcome. Although almost everyone wanted the convicts to receive death penalty, the Supreme Court on February 3 this year decided to hear the case again for sentencing, after complaints were raised that there have been violations in the procedure.
Finally, the verdict was out today (May 5), and the court upheld the earlier Delhi High Court and trial court decision to award death to all four convicts.
As soon as the news broke out, the country and its much-aggrieved citizens welcomed the apex court decision, hoping that the verdict will provide a small amount of closure to the victims' family fighting the pain and trauma of that chilling night of December.
But will it actually amount to closure?
The idea (of closure) is powerful. But it's debatable if a family’s pain will disappear forever even after the executions take place. Then why death? The verdict will once again open the debate over death penalty. Many who are against death penalty, in principle, believe it is not the solution to the crime. Yet, many among them had conflicting views on this particular case — a "rarest of rare" crime.
Here's how people expressed their pent-up emotions over the case on Twitter:
Death sentence for four in #Nirbhaya case- definitely meets rarest of rare benchmark- if ever a case called for hanging, this was it.
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) May 5, 2017
Now that the verdict is in can we stop saying #Nirbhaya & say her name #Jyoti. Her mother has called for it. Stigma is of rapists, not women
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) May 5, 2017
Times Now reporter: Entire court room broke into applause as judge announced the verdict, not something I've seen covering courts #Nirbhaya
— Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) May 5, 2017
Problem with 'collective conscience' standard is that one bench decides it is outraged for Nirbhaya, another does not for Bano.
— Karuna Nundy (@karunanundy) May 5, 2017
Life can't be judicial roulette. Even if it's the life of a horribly violent criminal.
— Karuna Nundy (@karunanundy) May 5, 2017
Disagree. Vehemently. We cared for details here. How's it different from 100s of women brutally gangraped in communal riots? And then killed https://t.co/OGzUmKrFbD
— Nadim Asrar (@_sufiyana_) May 5, 2017
@BDUTT Head of Bilkis Bano's 3-yr-old daughter was smashed while she was being gangraped. And then 13 more of her family were killed. Not rarest?
— Nadim Asrar (@_sufiyana_) May 5, 2017
Samaaj mein message dene ke liye kisi ko phansi nahi de sakte, human rights ki dhajiyaan udd gayi: AP Singh, Lawyer of convicts #Nirbhaya pic.twitter.com/DKMVXBwizn
— ANI (@ANI_news) May 5, 2017
@karunanundy So true, @karunanundy In Bilkis's case, there was gangrape, mass-murder et al, how is it not same as Nirbhaya Case ? Both rarest of rare !
— sanjay ahirwal (@ahirwal) May 5, 2017
The death penalty to the rapists is totally justified. Don't know whether this will deter others but these men deserve it for what they did
— Nidhi Razdan (@RazdanNidhi) May 5, 2017
Her name is Jyoti, not #Nirbhaya or #Damini, call her by her own name as justice is done in her memory & her convicts hanged
— Jyoti Malhotra (@jomalhotra) May 5, 2017
Still remember what doctors who first treated #Nirbhaya had told our reporter: "We haven't seen anything like this in our career"
— Abhijit Majumder (@abhijitmajumder) May 5, 2017#Nirbhaya: applause in SC as judges confirm death sentence, her mother had tears, reports @NDTV's Vaidyanathan
— Suparna Singh (@Suparna_Singh) May 5, 2017In principle I am against death penalty, but this was such a heinous crime that strictest punishment was needed: Brinda Karat,CPIM #Nirbhaya pic.twitter.com/YQb62fjjO9
— ANI (@ANI_news) May 5, 2017