Death penalty stirs debate

After four years and four months, the Supreme Court gave the verdict for December 16 gangrape case, confirming the death penalty given to the four convicts by the High Court and the trial court. Describing the incident as a “story of a different world”, the court said, “If ever a case called for hanging, this was it.” Within minutes, the court roared with applause for the decision, and the victim’s parents hailed the court’s verdict. However, will a death penalty in one particular case help in effectively reducing crimes against women in a country where rape incidents have become commonplace?

“I am against death penalty. I agree that this case was horrendous and the rarest of rare cases of rape and murder, but I don’t agree with death penalty as a punishment. I think the cases in which this should be rewarded is very arbitrary,” says activist Kamla Bhasin.

Kamla Bhasin

According to Bhasin, there’s still a long way to go for a change in the mindset of people in India. “Neither CCTVs nor death penalties are going to help in changing the mindset,” she says.  

Condemning how everyone “started clapping” when the decision was announced, she adds, “How can anyone clap on hearing of someone’s death in the court? This is just like hitting someone in the middle of the road in public. It is because of these reasons that I’m against death penalties.”

However, given the barbaric nature of the Nirbhaya gangrape case, many have come out in support of the court’s decision saying that the purpose of the punishment is deterrence and only a capital punishment can instil fear of law among people.

“Fear of law will come with death penalties. It states the seriousness of the crime and the criminal… that a crime of this extent will be rewarded with death penalty only. Through such decisions, you automatically provide a protection cover to the women of this country,” says Abha Singh, advocate, Bombay High Court.

She adds that such punishments also help people have faith in the judiciary. Otherwise, most cases just end up becoming a fight of lawyers, she says.

Asserting the need for death penalty in this case, she says, “This case happened on the roads in the capital of the country in a public transport. And the way it happened makes it a rarest of the rare cases.”

Swati Maliwal

Agrees Swati Maliwal, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief. “I think death penalty is a must when it comes to heinous crimes against women. This is the only thing that can send out a strong message to the society. It took almost five years for the court to deliver this punishment. At the end of the day, we are small drops in a huge ocean of problems. For instance, in Delhi, despite the huge outrage that happened after the Nirbhaya case, rapes are still happening every day and more girls are becoming Nirbhayas. Until and unless strong measures are taken both by the court and the government, not much is going to change,” says Swati.

She adds, “The fact that 31,446 crimes against women were reported from 2012 to 2014 and till date only 146 convictions have been achieved, shows that people are not scared. Thus, an exemplary punishment is very important.”  

According to Swati, a lot more than death penalty is needed to ensure safety of women. “Increased police accountability, more number of forensic science laboratories and various other protection mechanisms are needed,” she concludes.