New Delhi: A detailed review petition filed by the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, began on December 12. The proceeding was heard by a three-judge special bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.The bench has reserved its judgement in convict Mukesh’s case after his counsel M L Sharma’s concluding arguments and special prosecutor Sidharth Luthra’s counter.
Sharma, once again, questioned the DNA evidence and maintained that Mukesh wasn’t present at the scene stating that he did not know how to drive a bus as he only possessed a two-wheeler license. He also stated that Mukesh made self-implicating comments because he was under duress from the torture adding that the victim’s dying declaration was unreliable.
Sharma was pulled up by Misra for repeating his earlier arguments instead of making a case for a review. He asked the counsel to prove that the DNA evidence was wrong or that the investigation was perverse.
SSP Luthra pointed out that at the review stage, Sharma’s arguments had no standing.
The review plea of the other three convicted in the case, Vinay Akshay and Pawan, is to be held on January 22.
In May of this year, the death sentence was awarded to the Mukesh, Vinay Akshay and Pawan.
The 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist dubbed Nirbhaya, and her male friend were lured onto a bus on the night of December 16, 2012. The five adult males and a juvenile, repeatedly raped the woman and beat her and her friend and dumped them on the road. The woman succumbed to her injuries two weeks after the horrific incident. The juvenile was convicted and sentenced to three years in a reformation home after which he was released in December 2015. Four of the five adults involved were sentenced to death while the fifth hung himself in his cell.
