January 22, 2026

The Supreme Court has said that given the gravity and barbarity of the crime that shocked the world, the rapists of Nirbhaya must hang. The court has said that this is a fit case that falls in the rarest of the rare category and hence the death penalty must be invoked.

The court delved deep into the crime, the investigation, the evidence and the mentality of the accused before arriving at its decision. It termed the crime “brutal, barbaric and diabolic.” It took note of the fact that the accused had mala fide intentions in passing off the bus as public transport vehicle and picking up the girl and her companion. It termed the investigation fair, efficient and robust. It found the evidence irrefutable and strong enough to convict the accused.

While sentencing, the court also took a look at mitigating circumstances like the age of the accused, their station in life and their past criminal history. But in the end, the court awarded the death penalty as it was convinced that the accused posed a threat to society if let out in 14 to 15 years from now.

What went against the accused was the fact that apart from the gravest of crime of luring Nirbhaya into the bus and raping her, they displayed a sick mind by inserting iron rods in her private parts. As if that was not enough, they tried to kill both Nirbhaya and her companion by crushing them under the wheels of the bus. It was reported that the boy who was a juvenile when the crime was committed was the most ferocious of the gang. Nirbhaya’s dying declaration was also taken into account by the court.

Some people are of the opinion that an eye for an eye does not serve the ends of justice and that law must not play God. They also aver that the real purpose of justice is to reform the criminal. But if there was a crime whose perpetrators deserved the death penalty, this was it. A young life was brutally extinguished just to satisfy the lust of a few. They deserve to die.