New Delhi: A bench of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala on Wednesday heard the Delhi Police's petition seeking a review of the Supreme Court's acquittal of three death row convicts of the gangrape and murder of an 18-year-old girl in Delhi's Chhwala in November 2012.
CJI Chandrachud said he would be on the new bench besides Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi to review the case.
Highlighting the brutality of the crime, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, “An 18-year-old girl was raped, mutilated and killed. Objects were inserted in her private parts. Death penalty was awarded to Rahul, Ravi Kumar and Vinod by the trial court and upheld the Delhi High Court in 2014. The accused were acquitted in 2022. After coming out of jail, Vinod slit the throat of an auto driver for resisting a robbery bid. The acquitted accused are hardened criminals. We seek a review of their acquittal.”
The trio was accused of abducting, raping, and brutally killing the girl
Their death sentence was set aside by the SC in November 2022 by a bench of then CJI UU Lalit, Justices Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi.
The trio was accused of abducting, raping, and brutally killing the girl while she was returning home from her office in Gurgaon’s Cyber City on February 9, 2012. Her mutilated and decomposed body was found in Haryana’s Rewari on February 14. They allegedly targeted the girl when she turned down Ravi’s attempts to befriend her. In January, Delhi Police arrested Vinod in another case of murder.
“When they were freed, we feared they would harm others again and that's what happened,” says the victim's father after the SC agreed to hear a review petition.
“We want the other two acquitted criminals, Rahul and Ravi, who are roaming free, to be put behind bars as well because they will indulge in such offences again. They do not seem to have learnt the lessons from their past mistakes,” he added.
"Waited for years to get justice for my daughter," says victim's mother
“We have been cheated and wronged. We waited for years to get justice for my daughter. The accused should have been hanged but will roam free. My daughter was raped, they poured acid on her and mutilated her. I want justice. I won’t stop fighting,” the victim’s mother had said after the SC’s acquittal verdict in 2022.
