Nirbhaya verdict: Use of iron rods proved by dying declaration, DNA, says SC

New Delhi: The injuries caused to the December 16 gangrape victim by 'horrendous' use of two iron rods by the convicts were so grave that death was an 'inevitable consequence', the Supreme Court said today.

The apex court, which rejected the convicts' contention of false implication, said that insertion of iron rods in the private parts of the 23-year-old victim was also fortified by the scientific evidence and her dying declaration.
A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra, while upholding the death sentence awarded to the four convicts Pawan Kumar Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh and Akshay Kumar Singh observed that the DNA profile developed from the blood stains obtained from the iron rods was consistent with the DNA of the victim.

"The present case is one where there can be no denial that the narrative is long, the investigation has been cautious and to bring home the charge, modern and progressive scientific methods have been adopted," it said.

According to the police, two blood-stained iron rods of 59 cm and 70 cm respectively were recovered at the instance of prime accused Ram Singh, who had allegedly committed suicide in Tihar jail in March 2013, from the bus in which the crime was committed.

The police had said that in a most 'inhumane' manner, the iron rods were inserted in the private parts of the victim and the men had also taken out her internal organs.
Meanwhile, the defence counsel had claimed that the police had fabricated the story about use of iron rods as neither the victim nor her friend, who was also assaulted inside the bus, had mentioned about it in their first statements.

In its verdict, the bench said, "A victim who has just suffered a ghastly and extremely frightening incident cannot be expected to immediately come out of the state of shock and state the finest details of the incident. The subsequent dying declarations of the prosecutrix (victim) corroborated by the medical evidence cannot be disregarded merely on the ground that the use of iron rods is not substantiated by the prosecutrix's first statement," it said.

The apex court said that 'gravity and hideousness' of the injuries caused to her clearly show the use of iron rods by the men. "The injuries caused to the prosecutrix by incessantly and abominably injuring her private parts using the concerned iron rods were so grave that death was the inevitable consequence," it said.

The bench also noted that merely because finger prints of the men were not obtained from the iron rods, it could be said that they were not linked with them.

"Furthermore, the dying declaration of the prosecutrix, which is highly reliable, clearly establishes the horrendous use of iron rods," the bench said. Referring to the testimony of the victim's friend, the bench said he had deposed that the attackers had severely assaulted him with iron rods.

Dealing with the contentions of the defence counsel that use of iron rods was not mentioned in the FIR, the apex court said that purpose of an FIR was mainly to set the criminal law in motion and not to lay down every minute detail.

"When the subsequent statements of the prosecutrix well corroborated by the medical evidence are available, it is completely immaterial that the statement of PW-1 (her friend) does not mention the use of iron rods," the court said.