The Bombay High Court on Thursday, November 25, set aside the death sentence awarded to the three Shakti Mills gang-rape convicts earlier, saying public outrage should not guide the decision.
The HC Bench observed: “The Shakti Mill gang rape case has shaken the conscience of the society. A rape victim suffers not only physically but also mentally. It is a violation of human rights. But only in view of the public outrage. The death penalty is the only exception. The decision should not be guided by public outrage.”
Life imprisonment
The accused will now have to spend the rest of their lives behind bars and will not be entitled to parole or furlough for the rest of their lives so that they never mingle with society. It sentenced the convicts to life imprisonment. “The accused will not be able to assimilate with the society,” it said.
shakti mill gang rape case
In 2013, a 22-year-old photojournalist went to Mumbai’s idle Shakti Mills for a photoshoot with a male colleague. There five men tied the man and woman was raped in turn, One of the accused in this case was also a juvenile named Akash Jadhav.
Since he was a minor at the time of the offence, He has been sent to remand homeBuild and was released a few years later. After coming out of the correctional home, Akash formed his own criminal gang.
video report | Photojournalist gang-raped by five men in Mumbai
The court convicted the five men under IPC and other relevant sections of the Information Technology Act for gang rape, criminal conspiracy, common intention, unnatural sex, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint, assault, destruction of evidence.
Later, a 19-year-old telephone operator also filed an offense alleging gang rape mostly by the same accused in the same premises. A total of seven people, including two minors, were arrested in connection with the two gang rapes in July-August 2013. In both the cases, three accused were common.
How the case progressed over the years
A division bench of Justices SS Jadhav and PK Chavan, while pronouncing the verdict, quoted Khaleel Gibran and said, “And how will you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their misdeeds? Is there no repentance of justice which is the same law.” Whom you will not serve? Yet you cannot lift the remorse over the innocent and the heart of the guilty.”
In March 2014, a sessions court had convicted three accused, including an 18-year-old one, and sentenced them to death. These were the three that were common in the two gang rape cases.
Read | Four get life imprisonment in Shakti Mills gangrape case
A death sentence by any trial court must be confirmed by the High Court for it to be effective. The accused also filed an appeal against their conviction.
The photo-journalist was gang-raped by 5 persons namely Vijay Jadhav, Mohammad Qasim Bengali, Mohammad Salim Ansari, Siraj Rehman Khan and Akash, who were juveniles at the time of the crime.
A year later, in March 2014, Jadhav, Bengali and Ansari were convicted by the Mumbai Sessions Court under sections 354B (assault), 377 (unnatural offence) and 376D (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code.
While Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment, Akash was sent to a correctional center after being convicted by the Juvenile Justice Board.
The trio were also sentenced to death by then Chief Sessions Judge Shalini Phansalkar Joshi after the prosecution invoked Section 376E (repeating offender) of the IPC. He was also convicted for raping a 19-year-old woman.