Delhi Gang Rape: Juvenile accused convicted of rape and murder; Sentenced to 3 years imprisonment

The juvenile accused in the Delhi gang rape of December 16, 2012 has been sentenced to 3 years in special home today. The juvenile was found guilty of the rape and murder of the 23-year-old paramedical student..The judgment was pronounced today by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) presided over by Principal District Magistrate Geetanjali Goel. The judgment comes after nine months of the gruesome incident..Media persons had thronged outside the JJB behind Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground in anticipation of the verdict. The incident, one of the most gruesome in the recent past, involved 6 men, including the 17 year old juvenile, who gang-raped a 23 year old medical student in a moving bus on December 16, 2012. The girl and her friend were returning home after watching a movie when they were coaxed into the bus by the accused who then beat up her friend before taking turns in raping her..The incident had sparked outrage across the country with public demands for stronger penal laws to curb atrocities against women. Subsequently, a number of amendments were made to the Code of Criminal Procedure and Inidan Penal Code in light of the suggestions made by the Commission headed by Justice Verma..Four of the accused are being tried at the Special Court at Saket while the main accused Ram Singh had committed suicide in Tihar jail where he was lodged during the trial. The trial of the other accused has entered the final stages and the verdict is expected by mid September..The JJB had earlier deferred the pronouncement of the judgment on three occasions. The deferment was due to the directions of the Supreme Court which was deciding the maintainability of a petition filed by Dr. Subramanian Swamy. In his petition, Swamy sought the interpretation of the term ‘Juvenile’ under the Juvenile Justice Act in consonance with UN Convention on Rights of Child. The Supreme Court after admitting the said petition, gave the JJB a green signal to pass orders on the juvenile accused.