Chief Justice Asif Khosa has suspended the extension granted to Army chief Gen Bajwa, an unprecedented challenge to Army’s unbridled authority in Pakistan.
Over generations, Bihar’s bane has been its utter lack of urbanisation. But now, even Bihar is urbanising. Or let’s say, rurbanising. Two decades under Nitish Kumar have created a new elite in its cities.
Indian govt officials last month skipped Turkish National Day celebrations in Delhi, in a message to Ankara following its support for Islamabad, particularly during Operation Sindoor.
Bihar is blessed with a land more fertile for revolutions than any in India. Why has it fallen so far behind then? Constant obsession with politics is at the root of its destruction.
This is the problem of our country. in every 15-20 minutes, a girl is raped. What should we do to the rapists? Should not hang them….WOW. Brilliant. Then put them on pedestal and award them, worship them for treating a girl’s body like a commodity. When they can’t behave like humans, then they don’t deserve to be treated like humans. Enough of Intellectualism. Think what every woman goes through in this country. If someday, you are raped, will you think of forgiving the rapist? Mr/Ms/Mrs Author kindly get it straight. RAPE IS A HENIOUS CRIME THAT AFFECTS A PERSON PHYSICALLY AS WELL AS EMOTIONALLY. RAPISTS MUST BE HANGED TO DEATH PUBLICLY OR CASTRATED WITHIN A MONTH OF THE CRIME. THIS IS WHAT INDIA NEEDS NOW. Look at UAE and learn something. Since the inception of their new rape law, rape has reduced drastically. IDIOT AND SELFISH AUTHOR.
Solution:
1) India should have a dedicated court for dealing only rape/rape related death and abuse,just like family court which specialises in divorce/family disputes etc. Fast track courts don’t seem to do anything but only put vaseline on a 3rd degree burn. It does nothing.
My rationale : Courts which hear all cases/deaths will get bogged down and rapist won’t be punished faster than a case where a person accidentally murdered a friend/family.
2) Close all the loop holes in the law like not being able to be hanged together/not to be hanged while having bad health or injury/not being able to hang separately due to one party not exhausting all his options etc.
If the law is strong,then executing decrees fast in a dedicated Abuse Court would be easier.
My Rationale: Many laws are present to give an option to maybe a possible innocent victim who got entangled in the law and was being targeted purposefully. A rapist/rape killer/child molester mustn’t be given/able to take advantage of these.
3) Dedicated court must quickly execute(hang) rapist/molesters/rape killers in cases where it’s proved beyond reasonable doubt that they indeed were the culprits. Instead of feeding them with taxpayer money for 7 to 10 years.
My rationale : if quickly rapist killers are executed one after the other in quick succession as soon as their case is done by using 1+2 method , it will deter a considerable population who might be a future rapist killer as it will be clear to him that he too shall follow the victim soon and be hanged and not allowed to live beyond a maximum of 2 years since date of commiting crime.
4) Education. Educate the next gen on how quickly death follows a convicted rapist by using 1+2+3 method and on how society doesn’t tolerate such crimes right from childhood, through formal and informal education. This may weed out at least a few potential rapist from committing crime.
We need to make strong laws like Pocso Act but those cases too being heard in step (1) court will make it faster. Solution isnt fast track courts.
5) Setting up an Online and Offline public nuisance/wife beater/repeat offender/ abuser/attempted rapist/child molester list living in your living/work/school/college locality (just like in the US) will allow a person residing in an area know to what extent bad apples are in their locality. And be more prepared for unlucky occurences. There isn’t a need to give their names/address. Just dots of different colours representing different crimes will be a good help. Sometimes petty thieves upgrade to become abusers/killers. So as a citizen you will become afraid that such a lost will put in the global map and hence to avoid your name from appearing in such a list ,you would have to strive hard to be a good citizen.
My rationale : people become carefree living in their quiet localities most times without knowing how many reformed/unreformed criminals are living in their area and sometimes end up putting their guard down. At least being aware of teh danger dots will make people more informed. And careful.
Slow execution of law is the main hurdle in deterring Indian society from committing crimes. They know our Constitution and Indian Penal code is full of holes and can be interpreted in many ways and hence they have a higher chance of escaping repurcussion.
Society may not be completely rid of these rapist killers. But it can at least reduce the numbers.
What’s lacking truly is will on the part of our elected representatives,be it any party,to make these bold steps in setting up entire new wings of courts , appointments of vacant posts of judges from lower courts all the way to the SC as well making strong rules without holes.
Hanging a man by another man is itself a barbaric act. The death penalty has not served the purpose of deterrent effect. When a large no. of countries have either abolished it or has put a moratorium, India should should also think about abolishing this penalty. The imprisonment for life should be the maximum punishment.
OK guys. But why you people are silent about the barbaric act of Jamshedpur railway station rape and murder case in August last year where a 4 year old little girl was abducted while sleeping with her mother and was raped and murdered brutally. Why not anybody asking for the justice about it. Was not that more heinous crime than nirbhaya case. Was not she more innocent than nirbhaya. Was not her little body severely mutilated and cut into pieces? A 4 year old little girl who even did not see the world and did not know the meaning of rape was treated so brutally. Shame on the media, Shame on the system. First hang the culprits of jamshedpur railway station rape case before nirbhaya’s.
Law has got its two roles. Saving who are not guilty and punishment for guilty. Now, this depends on severity of crime. Law has to ensure trust and fear both – yes fear! A culprit should think twice before committing smallest crime. Nirbhaya rapists- one is free, others alive for 7 yrs now! Reason rapes are happening and continuing to happen. Advocates are fighting for right to live- what about right to live of nirbhaya? Any replies? How brutally was she murdered. Also it is high time now to change the law of being a minor. This guy inflicted maximum injuries, raped ! A person, whatever age, comitting this type of crime is a minor? Nowadays- due to access to internet and mobiles – a 10th std kid knows much better about all this that wat you would had known at double of his age 10 yrs back. Now even 14,15,16 yr old are comitting rapes! We need a speedy change and speedy hangings in such cases. It should be 7 days and not 7 yrs. then only things will change. Need of time , high time . Mr author , pls reboot your thought process. You are running on windows 7 ! Change it or change ur job!
Life imprisonment is a liability on the government. Hanging them is a good way to remove the burden.
Terrorists do it for a cause or because they are not in their right state of mind. There would be a section of Rapists who might again not be in their right state of mind(I’m talking about extreme cases of psychiatry). These regular working class men breed on their courage that they draw from suppressing women around them. There should be an example set to create fright among such and this can be achieved by hanging/brutally killing those rapists.
Coming to 102 countries abolishing death penalty, most of them developed countries of Europe, American continents have a secure educational system, society as a civilized structure, developed by their governments where this kind of brutality hasn’t been seen for decades. India is far behind in any of these civilized developments. Men are not taught morals here, 90 % of the police don’t know their job or are corrupt for the lust of even the smallest of incentives.
In this case specifically, where it stands in one of the rarest of the rare cases of raping a women, depriving her of her rights, destroying her soul and pulling out her intestines with a metal rod shows the amount of arrogance and brutality with which the rapists murdered her. And if the rapists walk away free or get a life-imprisonment, does not stand for the justice that the whole country is looking for. And the way the convicts’ are using the same law that was made to protect the rights of all Indians is only setting out an example that rapists of such brutality can hope to walk free.
I agree that the death penalty can be abolished but there is a lot of time for it to happen in a country like India.
So it is of utmost importance that these people be hanged to satisfy not the wishes of the mother to get justice for her daughter but to instill a sense of security in the Indian women that no bon-animal group can brutally kill you, exhaust you of your rights to live, to experience liberty of thought, your freedom of speech, your dreams, your ambitions, finally your body organs and still dream to walk away free after serving a mere half tenure of their life without even paying back with the same loss
If this author was brutalized and left bleeding on the street with his intestines hanging out, would he still hold the same view while he bleeds to death? It’s all logical and fair as long as it doesn’t happen to you isn’t it? I am a mother to a daughter and i still shiver to think that the most brutal murderer of this incident, the juvenile who was released in 2015 and whose whereabouts and identity is unknown, he could still be lurking somewhere nearby and somebody’s daughter’s life is still at stake! Juvenile or not a crime is a crime and if you were cold hearted enough to commit such an offence then there is no need for the state to show any mercy to the criminals when they did not show any mercy to the victim
This piece itself is like a criminal act if measured with brutality it carries towards the victims. Had the author himself been a victim with his entrails oozing out of his anus, or someone he loves (if he is capable of doing so), I am sure he would have not been in a “mental state to write this piece”.
death penalty should not be abolshed, although depending on the case of intentional murder/accidental murder it should be given accordingle. nirabhya was not murdered intentionally but aassaulted badlly that resulted in her painful death, the mother can pardon the rapist if she wants.
I disagree with author’s statement”If killing the killers is justice, why don’t we argue for raping the rapists, robbing the thieves” because there is a big difference between killing the murderers and raping and robbing the rapists and thieves.Killing murderers will reduce the crime of murder, while rape of rapists and robbery of thieves will not affect rape and robbery crime.It is not hidden from anyone who has the slightest understanding.
What a load of waffle, where is the sympathy for the victims families and the victim who was raped repeatedly and brutally assaulted then chucked out like a piece of meat. Death penalty is not revenge i tell you want revenge is the victims own family killing the convicts. In some circumstances the death penalty has to exist why should criminals roam around in jail and breath. To me it feels like the evil are getting the backing
The biggest argument against death sentence is that all life is sacred – even the life of a criminal. we can’t create a life, we can’t give back life – so we should not take a life. The purpose of punishment should not be revenge but to make sure that first, the criminal does not repeat the crime and second, that it acts as a deterrent to others. So, in case of rape, hanging could be replaced by imprisonment and reversible chemical castration. In a macho society like ours, the second may be a stronger deterrent than the first or indeed than death.
This is not a barbaric Islamic nation like Saudi Arabia.
according to the author, we should treat rapist and murders as superheroes and hand over to them more daughters to rape! we should let them live in prison in security and waste taxpayers money for feeding them as the author is unemployed he also wishes to have an easy life of prison. in short, the author feels people should get raped and live peacefully.what will happen to the rapist they rape and get an easy prison life and when they come out they will rape even more people and repeat the same cycle
Well said. Implementing capital punishment is just like murdering somebody with revenge. After all, just a justification that justice is delivered through killing a convict.
The nirbhaya case was the rarest of the rare because those rapists apart from raping her, violated her with a metal rod. They pulled out her intestines while doing so. And you mofo think think the death penalty is not fair? They should be publically hanged till death. And you don’t get to decide what justice is. Go and ask the victim’s mother. I don’t know who you are, where you are from, what else you do apart from writing bullshit; I just want to say, Go Fcuk Yourself. 🙂
I do not think that death sentence for rape is not fair. Quite the opposite i personally think that not even the worst form of torture is enough for those lowlifes. But i would still defend the author, for two reasons. One, because it’s not upto the victims families to decide what proper punishment is for such cases. Revenge is for fools. Yes it’s unfair, but law and order in society is more important especially in India where intolerance is a greater evil. Two, it is unfortunate that even with there being death penalty it is instead being used as a political tool and an excuse by the legal justice system to pardon their incompetence. This level of deterance is not enough. No one is afraid of the legal justice system. Harsh punishments are not going to stop these lowlifes. The certainity of punishment will deter them.
Are you implying that the family of victims who are clamouring for justice in the form of death penalty some how less civilised than the leftists?
Disagree. Although capital punishment is not a good option , considering the heinous crime these four committed anderssen they deliberately tore away inner parts of a woman after raping her definitely does not deserve to get away with just life sentences
Sadly, there must be a message to all people who thinks of committing such crimes in future.
India cannot afford to ill treat their womenfolk the way it is done now.
I feel bad for the writer of this article. His inclined view towards humanist ideology with no empathy towards the victim and the family showcases how little he knows about pain. He should throw away the pen he used to write this article. Since long the death penalty has existed which the author has no idea of. The death penalty is not just a symbol that law will protect you but a symbol to all those in the society that seek to harm and break the fabric of the society. I question him that was Lord Ram wrong when he killed Ravana even though the latter was a knowledgeable person and also a devotee of shiva. It’s not barbaric but the right way a society functions. I am sure the author is a good person but why was he not there that night to protect Nirbhaya. I am ashamed of myself that I could do nothing. Sorry I am not a writer but I stand against your views. These humanistic ideas and laws have let many criminals go for their heinous crimes against the society. I stand with the society today and I am sure you are not against a better society for tomorrow. This article is a senile view by the author to stand out but I hope people don’t get lured in this trap.
The author can write about so many more things such as a decrease in education spending, sexual health education.
I urge you please do not let the term the pen is mightier than the sword to fail.
I respect people who are against the death penalty but this column is filled with inaccurate information, inaccurate conclusions and spurious arguments. Consider this one for instance: “Cases of rape-and-murder have been rising along with the number of death sentences given by courts.”. Note that the author is well aware that the vast majority of criminals who are sentenced to death never face the death sentence – so why should a sentence be a deterrent? The fact remains that only a handful of people have actually received the death penalty in more than 10 years. Things are so bad that there isn’t even a hangman available nor is the equipment in working order.
Here is a more insidious example of how elites like Vij manufacture entire mountains out of thin air. The “rarest of the rare” is a doctrine propounded by the Supreme Court that didn’t want to sentence anybody to death but wanted to maintain their popularity. This doctrine is not based on any law or anything in the constitution. Nor does it add an iota of clarity as to who should face the death sentence. But now the same elites who propounded this thesis to start with build a mountain of arguments on top of a doctrine which is fallacious to start with.
Finally, here is the most serious problem with this entire line of elitist thinking. Those who think that capital punishment is bad would be expected to work to improve the delivery of justice. In this article, do you see the writer complain about how the Supreme Court wouldn’t even give a hearing to this case for years, while they had the time to hear Chidambram more than a dozen times within the space of a few days? Do you see any compassion for the parents of Nirbhaya in this article? Our elites destroyed the legal system over the last 70 years. They removed any place for the victim or their families in the process. Delays that stretch into the decades are normal. Yet, have you heard any of our elites complain when it took more than 10 years for a decision in the Salman Khan case, which was then overturned in 30 minutes the same day? Do you ever see a write up by Vij about the miscarriage of justice in the Uphaar cinema case that occurred in the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court right under our noses? Remember, Babri Masjid was just a land case that sat in the courts for 50 years. Now imagine the trauma that would have been avoided if the case had been resolved in any reasonable time.
People like Vij are tuned into the western mode of thinking (and there is nothing wrong with that). They echo many of the same ideas about abolishing the death penalty. But have they looked at how much more efficient the delivery of justice is in those countries? Or, how much more the judiciary is faithful to enforcing the law in the west? Vij talks about a large number of cases that are overturned in appeals. How many witnesses remain after decades? How many prosecutors and police are still on the same job after decades of delays? It boggles the mind to read an article such as this, which betrays not an iota of caring about the destruction of our legal system and, yet wants to talk about abolishing the death penalty.
so your point is if we stop death penalty there would be less crime? so why don’t we stop the courts itself then there will be no crime? as you mentioned that certain high profile cases gets or meet the hangman, so here its a flaw that needs to be fixed. Ever rapist should be hanged that’s should be our aim. If there are accidents on the road you shouldn’t ask to close it down.
Thank you for saying what needed to be said. We need to keep saying this – not just when there is a case on hand but when there is not. It is less emotive when the argument is in the abstract. May be people will listen then.
not all rapes have intestines pulled out from the woman/victim……..the brutality in this rape was rare enough indeed, and death penalty is not at all unfair here……..death penalty is the least we can do in the name of justice
If you think this case was just rape and murder, then thats a very incorrect understanding. This was disfigurement of a human, extremely barbarous and beyond comprehension. I haven’t heard of many cases where someone was murdered by pulling out their intestines while they were still alive – so yes, I’d think of it is rarest of rare. Ofcourse this is subjective – but for such a crime, death penalty is appropriate and just. It did shake my conscience and that of almost everyone else I know. 7 years later, we can hardly relate to the pain of the innocent girl who died such a brutal death, but are most focused on the emotions of the convicts. Thats why the saying justice delayed is justice denied.
Politics come into picture into almost all things in India, as unfortunate as that is, that can’t be a reason to not hang a death row convict, just as politics can’t be a reason to award death penalty to someone who doesn’t deserve it. It’s sad and unfortunate that parties are playing polities around this, but that doesn’t take away from the crime and the punishment.
I am not political, the millions of people who’re demanding justice for Nirbhaya are not political – this was what I’d felt in 2012, and what I feel now.
It is extremely unfortunate that it’s taking this long in a case which is fairly black and white (in terms of establishing the crime and who committed it), and with so much media attention. My heart goes to other similar cases that we may never get to hear about.
However, that still can’t be the reason to reduce the sentence in this case. Each case needs to be looked at on its own merit.
As for the argument of other countries having abolished the death penalty – a single point comparison doesn’t hold. Tons of other factors come into play and each one should be analysed in depth, including but not limited to – speed of delivery of justice, population, jail reforms, stage of society, propensity of crimes being committed etc. A number of advanced nations still retain the death penalty including USA, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand etc.
Please keep your views to yourself. Other rapists from some other cases are not hanged , it doesn’t mean that Nirbhaya rapists are not to be hanged. Is this even a qualification?
Justice is about commiserate punishment and accountability. The punishment increases with the heinousness of crime committed. It is a form of “civilized” retribution. To say that Nirbhaya incident is not rarest of rare is unsympathetic and callous of the author. However you want to intellectualize it, the perpetrators deserved to die. This is born out of empathy and not blood lust. The most “uncivilized” thing would be to abolish death penalty and send a signal to all potential child rapists, serial killers and mass murderers that no matter what you do, you can scam the system and some misguided “activists” would always be fighting for your “rights” even inside prison until you are pardoned eventually for one reason or the other.
Mr. Shivam Vij i would like to inform you I’m not convinced by your article, People who are indulged in gruesome wrongdoings must be punished harshly, The way i see it, Punishment should be more harsher than HANGING Thats All.
If societies get to decide for what is the loss to an individual family, then one shouldn’t advocate for the right of freedom of speech for an individual if the society at large doesn’t agree with it vis-a-vis hurting religious sentiments. On this issue Shivam Vij would jump the gun in other direction. It’s one thing to preach higher standards, but pretend otherwise…
These are my feelings exactly , very well written VIj , I would like to add to a bit here .The convicts in the Nirbhaya case are impoverished subalterns of society , i personally intuit that till the crime they committed , they must have been victimized in various ways , that of course is not a rationalization for the crime they committed . Our society is not humane in many ways , capital punishment is one more inhumanity in the name of justice .As for the clamor for hanging of these men , I suspect that , human beings take undue pleasure in other peoples misfortunes , but one must remember but for nature’s grace , the same fate could have befallen I .
The punishment of death sentence in rape cases is excessive .it is/may be o.k. in heinous and pre-planned murder cases. Rapes are more common than murders , so it may lead to a situation where news papers headlines are talking of this or that Jallad {Hangman } frequently . If the society approves and awards death penalty in rape cases , it is likely to endanger the life of rape victim to destroy the evidence. This is what happened recently with unfortunate rape victim in Hyderabad. Not every where cameras are installed to provide actionable leads in crime detection. I am not saying that rape is not heinous crime. but imposition of heavy financial penalty, longer imprisonment will also prove potent deterrent. And most important is speed with which investigation is completed and initial trial and subsequent appeals by decided.
If you think, this was just a gangrape, then you don’t know the case. Please read about it. They pulled out someone’s intestines while the person was still alive. That is murdering someone in the most brutal way.
Punishment is something that undergoes after which one realises his error. Therefore Capital Punishment is not really a punishment. It is a process of eliminating people who are irredeemable and unsafe to return to society and whose further existence is a confirmed danger to society.
It is therefore not revenge nor does it have anything to do with the views of the victims or their relatives.
>> “A quarter of the convicts were acquitted (such as former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani). ”
By including Maya Kodnani in the article the author reveals his bias. What was the compulsion to name Maya Kodnani? Because she is related to the Gujarat riots when Modi was CM ?
This is a bogus reason not to carry out death penalty. Punishment certainty and extent of punishment are not mutually exclusive. Why everything needs to be politicized. Whether politics or not, death penalty is certainly a deterrent to heinous crime.
Mr Shekhar Gupta, what is wrong with you? Why are you publishing rubbish like this? This is a tweet blown into a thousand words. It is a cry. There is no new insight, no fresh thinking, no new angle, no new legal line. It is the very same old argument against capital punishment. Whether this line of thinking is correct or not, is not the point. The author has, after all, hedged himself by saying that the views are personal. But isn’t it the same old thing being regurgitated?
The core of the problem is, journalism is slipping into activism. You, Mr Shekhar Gupta, are an outstanding journalist, with long years of experience in the profession and have seen all the major events of the recent Indian history from the ringside. YOU, more than anyone else, should guard against activists taking over journalism.
Please.
I’m also a member of the profession. I feel sad that you are letting it happen.
And moreover why are bringing politics into it?
Your logic that if one criminal is not punished then no criminal should be punished stinks like a rotten apple.
Let not your hatred for BJP color all your articles
Mr.shivam vij
We must also give rs.10 lakhs each to start a new life
We must also give them compensation for the time spent in jail
And also why not an award for their couragey act
It is a shame
As long as people like you keep supporting the rapists the rapes in the country is only going to increase
It is equally sad that we are not even humane enough to empathize with the victim’s family
This guy is a liability on the print. He wants terrorists and killers to roam free. The cases which he is comparing with other ones does not make any sense as death penalty is awarded after through procedure. May be those didn’t deserve. But the convicts who are given death penalty, the process must be carried out.
This is the problem of our country. in every 15-20 minutes, a girl is raped. What should we do to the rapists? Should not hang them….WOW. Brilliant. Then put them on pedestal and award them, worship them for treating a girl’s body like a commodity. When they can’t behave like humans, then they don’t deserve to be treated like humans. Enough of Intellectualism. Think what every woman goes through in this country. If someday, you are raped, will you think of forgiving the rapist? Mr/Ms/Mrs Author kindly get it straight. RAPE IS A HENIOUS CRIME THAT AFFECTS A PERSON PHYSICALLY AS WELL AS EMOTIONALLY. RAPISTS MUST BE HANGED TO DEATH PUBLICLY OR CASTRATED WITHIN A MONTH OF THE CRIME. THIS IS WHAT INDIA NEEDS NOW. Look at UAE and learn something. Since the inception of their new rape law, rape has reduced drastically. IDIOT AND SELFISH AUTHOR.
Solution:
1) India should have a dedicated court for dealing only rape/rape related death and abuse,just like family court which specialises in divorce/family disputes etc. Fast track courts don’t seem to do anything but only put vaseline on a 3rd degree burn. It does nothing.
My rationale : Courts which hear all cases/deaths will get bogged down and rapist won’t be punished faster than a case where a person accidentally murdered a friend/family.
2) Close all the loop holes in the law like not being able to be hanged together/not to be hanged while having bad health or injury/not being able to hang separately due to one party not exhausting all his options etc.
If the law is strong,then executing decrees fast in a dedicated Abuse Court would be easier.
My Rationale: Many laws are present to give an option to maybe a possible innocent victim who got entangled in the law and was being targeted purposefully. A rapist/rape killer/child molester mustn’t be given/able to take advantage of these.
3) Dedicated court must quickly execute(hang) rapist/molesters/rape killers in cases where it’s proved beyond reasonable doubt that they indeed were the culprits. Instead of feeding them with taxpayer money for 7 to 10 years.
My rationale : if quickly rapist killers are executed one after the other in quick succession as soon as their case is done by using 1+2 method , it will deter a considerable population who might be a future rapist killer as it will be clear to him that he too shall follow the victim soon and be hanged and not allowed to live beyond a maximum of 2 years since date of commiting crime.
4) Education. Educate the next gen on how quickly death follows a convicted rapist by using 1+2+3 method and on how society doesn’t tolerate such crimes right from childhood, through formal and informal education. This may weed out at least a few potential rapist from committing crime.
We need to make strong laws like Pocso Act but those cases too being heard in step (1) court will make it faster. Solution isnt fast track courts.
5) Setting up an Online and Offline public nuisance/wife beater/repeat offender/ abuser/attempted rapist/child molester list living in your living/work/school/college locality (just like in the US) will allow a person residing in an area know to what extent bad apples are in their locality. And be more prepared for unlucky occurences. There isn’t a need to give their names/address. Just dots of different colours representing different crimes will be a good help. Sometimes petty thieves upgrade to become abusers/killers. So as a citizen you will become afraid that such a lost will put in the global map and hence to avoid your name from appearing in such a list ,you would have to strive hard to be a good citizen.
My rationale : people become carefree living in their quiet localities most times without knowing how many reformed/unreformed criminals are living in their area and sometimes end up putting their guard down. At least being aware of teh danger dots will make people more informed. And careful.
Slow execution of law is the main hurdle in deterring Indian society from committing crimes. They know our Constitution and Indian Penal code is full of holes and can be interpreted in many ways and hence they have a higher chance of escaping repurcussion.
Society may not be completely rid of these rapist killers. But it can at least reduce the numbers.
What’s lacking truly is will on the part of our elected representatives,be it any party,to make these bold steps in setting up entire new wings of courts , appointments of vacant posts of judges from lower courts all the way to the SC as well making strong rules without holes.
Hanging a man by another man is itself a barbaric act. The death penalty has not served the purpose of deterrent effect. When a large no. of countries have either abolished it or has put a moratorium, India should should also think about abolishing this penalty. The imprisonment for life should be the maximum punishment.
OK guys. But why you people are silent about the barbaric act of Jamshedpur railway station rape and murder case in August last year where a 4 year old little girl was abducted while sleeping with her mother and was raped and murdered brutally. Why not anybody asking for the justice about it. Was not that more heinous crime than nirbhaya case. Was not she more innocent than nirbhaya. Was not her little body severely mutilated and cut into pieces? A 4 year old little girl who even did not see the world and did not know the meaning of rape was treated so brutally. Shame on the media, Shame on the system. First hang the culprits of jamshedpur railway station rape case before nirbhaya’s.
ALL I repeat ALL murderers should be hanged. They take the lives of others but want to protect their own?
Law has got its two roles. Saving who are not guilty and punishment for guilty. Now, this depends on severity of crime. Law has to ensure trust and fear both – yes fear! A culprit should think twice before committing smallest crime. Nirbhaya rapists- one is free, others alive for 7 yrs now! Reason rapes are happening and continuing to happen. Advocates are fighting for right to live- what about right to live of nirbhaya? Any replies? How brutally was she murdered. Also it is high time now to change the law of being a minor. This guy inflicted maximum injuries, raped ! A person, whatever age, comitting this type of crime is a minor? Nowadays- due to access to internet and mobiles – a 10th std kid knows much better about all this that wat you would had known at double of his age 10 yrs back. Now even 14,15,16 yr old are comitting rapes! We need a speedy change and speedy hangings in such cases. It should be 7 days and not 7 yrs. then only things will change. Need of time , high time . Mr author , pls reboot your thought process. You are running on windows 7 ! Change it or change ur job!
Hanging is wrong give them life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a liability on the government. Hanging them is a good way to remove the burden.
Terrorists do it for a cause or because they are not in their right state of mind. There would be a section of Rapists who might again not be in their right state of mind(I’m talking about extreme cases of psychiatry). These regular working class men breed on their courage that they draw from suppressing women around them. There should be an example set to create fright among such and this can be achieved by hanging/brutally killing those rapists.
Coming to 102 countries abolishing death penalty, most of them developed countries of Europe, American continents have a secure educational system, society as a civilized structure, developed by their governments where this kind of brutality hasn’t been seen for decades. India is far behind in any of these civilized developments. Men are not taught morals here, 90 % of the police don’t know their job or are corrupt for the lust of even the smallest of incentives.
In this case specifically, where it stands in one of the rarest of the rare cases of raping a women, depriving her of her rights, destroying her soul and pulling out her intestines with a metal rod shows the amount of arrogance and brutality with which the rapists murdered her. And if the rapists walk away free or get a life-imprisonment, does not stand for the justice that the whole country is looking for. And the way the convicts’ are using the same law that was made to protect the rights of all Indians is only setting out an example that rapists of such brutality can hope to walk free.
I agree that the death penalty can be abolished but there is a lot of time for it to happen in a country like India.
So it is of utmost importance that these people be hanged to satisfy not the wishes of the mother to get justice for her daughter but to instill a sense of security in the Indian women that no bon-animal group can brutally kill you, exhaust you of your rights to live, to experience liberty of thought, your freedom of speech, your dreams, your ambitions, finally your body organs and still dream to walk away free after serving a mere half tenure of their life without even paying back with the same loss
Print should be ashamed of having published this,if this be the state the credibility is sure to go down .Can’t have trust on print
I guess the author who wrote this for sure has criminal bent of mind .No sane person will be able the make these kind of statement .
If this author was brutalized and left bleeding on the street with his intestines hanging out, would he still hold the same view while he bleeds to death? It’s all logical and fair as long as it doesn’t happen to you isn’t it? I am a mother to a daughter and i still shiver to think that the most brutal murderer of this incident, the juvenile who was released in 2015 and whose whereabouts and identity is unknown, he could still be lurking somewhere nearby and somebody’s daughter’s life is still at stake! Juvenile or not a crime is a crime and if you were cold hearted enough to commit such an offence then there is no need for the state to show any mercy to the criminals when they did not show any mercy to the victim
This piece itself is like a criminal act if measured with brutality it carries towards the victims. Had the author himself been a victim with his entrails oozing out of his anus, or someone he loves (if he is capable of doing so), I am sure he would have not been in a “mental state to write this piece”.
death penalty should not be abolshed, although depending on the case of intentional murder/accidental murder it should be given accordingle. nirabhya was not murdered intentionally but aassaulted badlly that resulted in her painful death, the mother can pardon the rapist if she wants.
I disagree with author’s statement”If killing the killers is justice, why don’t we argue for raping the rapists, robbing the thieves” because there is a big difference between killing the murderers and raping and robbing the rapists and thieves.Killing murderers will reduce the crime of murder, while rape of rapists and robbery of thieves will not affect rape and robbery crime.It is not hidden from anyone who has the slightest understanding.
What a load of waffle, where is the sympathy for the victims families and the victim who was raped repeatedly and brutally assaulted then chucked out like a piece of meat. Death penalty is not revenge i tell you want revenge is the victims own family killing the convicts. In some circumstances the death penalty has to exist why should criminals roam around in jail and breath. To me it feels like the evil are getting the backing
The biggest argument against death sentence is that all life is sacred – even the life of a criminal. we can’t create a life, we can’t give back life – so we should not take a life. The purpose of punishment should not be revenge but to make sure that first, the criminal does not repeat the crime and second, that it acts as a deterrent to others. So, in case of rape, hanging could be replaced by imprisonment and reversible chemical castration. In a macho society like ours, the second may be a stronger deterrent than the first or indeed than death.
I completely agree with the “chemical castration” as the apt method of penalty to tape convicts.
Can we get to see the Hanging of the culprits live on TV ?, Perhaps, they should do that in full public view, instead of enclosed
This is not a barbaric Islamic nation like Saudi Arabia.
according to the author, we should treat rapist and murders as superheroes and hand over to them more daughters to rape! we should let them live in prison in security and waste taxpayers money for feeding them as the author is unemployed he also wishes to have an easy life of prison. in short, the author feels people should get raped and live peacefully.what will happen to the rapist they rape and get an easy prison life and when they come out they will rape even more people and repeat the same cycle
Feeding these kinds of animal from past 2012 isn’t a good sign of progressive nation, they should be killed the very moment they were found guilty ?
Well said. Implementing capital punishment is just like murdering somebody with revenge. After all, just a justification that justice is delivered through killing a convict.
The nirbhaya case was the rarest of the rare because those rapists apart from raping her, violated her with a metal rod. They pulled out her intestines while doing so. And you mofo think think the death penalty is not fair? They should be publically hanged till death. And you don’t get to decide what justice is. Go and ask the victim’s mother. I don’t know who you are, where you are from, what else you do apart from writing bullshit; I just want to say, Go Fcuk Yourself. 🙂
I do not think that death sentence for rape is not fair. Quite the opposite i personally think that not even the worst form of torture is enough for those lowlifes. But i would still defend the author, for two reasons. One, because it’s not upto the victims families to decide what proper punishment is for such cases. Revenge is for fools. Yes it’s unfair, but law and order in society is more important especially in India where intolerance is a greater evil. Two, it is unfortunate that even with there being death penalty it is instead being used as a political tool and an excuse by the legal justice system to pardon their incompetence. This level of deterance is not enough. No one is afraid of the legal justice system. Harsh punishments are not going to stop these lowlifes. The certainity of punishment will deter them.
Are you implying that the family of victims who are clamouring for justice in the form of death penalty some how less civilised than the leftists?
Disagree. Although capital punishment is not a good option , considering the heinous crime these four committed anderssen they deliberately tore away inner parts of a woman after raping her definitely does not deserve to get away with just life sentences
Sadly, there must be a message to all people who thinks of committing such crimes in future.
India cannot afford to ill treat their womenfolk the way it is done now.
I feel bad for the writer of this article. His inclined view towards humanist ideology with no empathy towards the victim and the family showcases how little he knows about pain. He should throw away the pen he used to write this article. Since long the death penalty has existed which the author has no idea of. The death penalty is not just a symbol that law will protect you but a symbol to all those in the society that seek to harm and break the fabric of the society. I question him that was Lord Ram wrong when he killed Ravana even though the latter was a knowledgeable person and also a devotee of shiva. It’s not barbaric but the right way a society functions. I am sure the author is a good person but why was he not there that night to protect Nirbhaya. I am ashamed of myself that I could do nothing. Sorry I am not a writer but I stand against your views. These humanistic ideas and laws have let many criminals go for their heinous crimes against the society. I stand with the society today and I am sure you are not against a better society for tomorrow. This article is a senile view by the author to stand out but I hope people don’t get lured in this trap.
The author can write about so many more things such as a decrease in education spending, sexual health education.
I urge you please do not let the term the pen is mightier than the sword to fail.
I respect people who are against the death penalty but this column is filled with inaccurate information, inaccurate conclusions and spurious arguments. Consider this one for instance: “Cases of rape-and-murder have been rising along with the number of death sentences given by courts.”. Note that the author is well aware that the vast majority of criminals who are sentenced to death never face the death sentence – so why should a sentence be a deterrent? The fact remains that only a handful of people have actually received the death penalty in more than 10 years. Things are so bad that there isn’t even a hangman available nor is the equipment in working order.
Here is a more insidious example of how elites like Vij manufacture entire mountains out of thin air. The “rarest of the rare” is a doctrine propounded by the Supreme Court that didn’t want to sentence anybody to death but wanted to maintain their popularity. This doctrine is not based on any law or anything in the constitution. Nor does it add an iota of clarity as to who should face the death sentence. But now the same elites who propounded this thesis to start with build a mountain of arguments on top of a doctrine which is fallacious to start with.
Finally, here is the most serious problem with this entire line of elitist thinking. Those who think that capital punishment is bad would be expected to work to improve the delivery of justice. In this article, do you see the writer complain about how the Supreme Court wouldn’t even give a hearing to this case for years, while they had the time to hear Chidambram more than a dozen times within the space of a few days? Do you see any compassion for the parents of Nirbhaya in this article? Our elites destroyed the legal system over the last 70 years. They removed any place for the victim or their families in the process. Delays that stretch into the decades are normal. Yet, have you heard any of our elites complain when it took more than 10 years for a decision in the Salman Khan case, which was then overturned in 30 minutes the same day? Do you ever see a write up by Vij about the miscarriage of justice in the Uphaar cinema case that occurred in the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court right under our noses? Remember, Babri Masjid was just a land case that sat in the courts for 50 years. Now imagine the trauma that would have been avoided if the case had been resolved in any reasonable time.
People like Vij are tuned into the western mode of thinking (and there is nothing wrong with that). They echo many of the same ideas about abolishing the death penalty. But have they looked at how much more efficient the delivery of justice is in those countries? Or, how much more the judiciary is faithful to enforcing the law in the west? Vij talks about a large number of cases that are overturned in appeals. How many witnesses remain after decades? How many prosecutors and police are still on the same job after decades of delays? It boggles the mind to read an article such as this, which betrays not an iota of caring about the destruction of our legal system and, yet wants to talk about abolishing the death penalty.
so your point is if we stop death penalty there would be less crime? so why don’t we stop the courts itself then there will be no crime? as you mentioned that certain high profile cases gets or meet the hangman, so here its a flaw that needs to be fixed. Ever rapist should be hanged that’s should be our aim. If there are accidents on the road you shouldn’t ask to close it down.
Thank you for saying what needed to be said. We need to keep saying this – not just when there is a case on hand but when there is not. It is less emotive when the argument is in the abstract. May be people will listen then.
Horrible article.. shows ur mindset you sick person.. hate to say this but would you say the same thing if it was ur sister..
not all rapes have intestines pulled out from the woman/victim……..the brutality in this rape was rare enough indeed, and death penalty is not at all unfair here……..death penalty is the least we can do in the name of justice
Why not just shoot them. Not civilised enough? Oh we just give them sewing machines? Make sense.
Keep your civil society to yourself. Demons in human flesh should be sent back to where they come from.
If you think this case was just rape and murder, then thats a very incorrect understanding. This was disfigurement of a human, extremely barbarous and beyond comprehension. I haven’t heard of many cases where someone was murdered by pulling out their intestines while they were still alive – so yes, I’d think of it is rarest of rare. Ofcourse this is subjective – but for such a crime, death penalty is appropriate and just. It did shake my conscience and that of almost everyone else I know. 7 years later, we can hardly relate to the pain of the innocent girl who died such a brutal death, but are most focused on the emotions of the convicts. Thats why the saying justice delayed is justice denied.
Politics come into picture into almost all things in India, as unfortunate as that is, that can’t be a reason to not hang a death row convict, just as politics can’t be a reason to award death penalty to someone who doesn’t deserve it. It’s sad and unfortunate that parties are playing polities around this, but that doesn’t take away from the crime and the punishment.
I am not political, the millions of people who’re demanding justice for Nirbhaya are not political – this was what I’d felt in 2012, and what I feel now.
It is extremely unfortunate that it’s taking this long in a case which is fairly black and white (in terms of establishing the crime and who committed it), and with so much media attention. My heart goes to other similar cases that we may never get to hear about.
However, that still can’t be the reason to reduce the sentence in this case. Each case needs to be looked at on its own merit.
As for the argument of other countries having abolished the death penalty – a single point comparison doesn’t hold. Tons of other factors come into play and each one should be analysed in depth, including but not limited to – speed of delivery of justice, population, jail reforms, stage of society, propensity of crimes being committed etc. A number of advanced nations still retain the death penalty including USA, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand etc.
Please keep your views to yourself. Other rapists from some other cases are not hanged , it doesn’t mean that Nirbhaya rapists are not to be hanged. Is this even a qualification?
Justice is about commiserate punishment and accountability. The punishment increases with the heinousness of crime committed. It is a form of “civilized” retribution. To say that Nirbhaya incident is not rarest of rare is unsympathetic and callous of the author. However you want to intellectualize it, the perpetrators deserved to die. This is born out of empathy and not blood lust. The most “uncivilized” thing would be to abolish death penalty and send a signal to all potential child rapists, serial killers and mass murderers that no matter what you do, you can scam the system and some misguided “activists” would always be fighting for your “rights” even inside prison until you are pardoned eventually for one reason or the other.
Mr. Shivam Vij i would like to inform you I’m not convinced by your article, People who are indulged in gruesome wrongdoings must be punished harshly, The way i see it, Punishment should be more harsher than HANGING Thats All.
If societies get to decide for what is the loss to an individual family, then one shouldn’t advocate for the right of freedom of speech for an individual if the society at large doesn’t agree with it vis-a-vis hurting religious sentiments. On this issue Shivam Vij would jump the gun in other direction. It’s one thing to preach higher standards, but pretend otherwise…
These are my feelings exactly , very well written VIj , I would like to add to a bit here .The convicts in the Nirbhaya case are impoverished subalterns of society , i personally intuit that till the crime they committed , they must have been victimized in various ways , that of course is not a rationalization for the crime they committed . Our society is not humane in many ways , capital punishment is one more inhumanity in the name of justice .As for the clamor for hanging of these men , I suspect that , human beings take undue pleasure in other peoples misfortunes , but one must remember but for nature’s grace , the same fate could have befallen I .
The punishment of death sentence in rape cases is excessive .it is/may be o.k. in heinous and pre-planned murder cases. Rapes are more common than murders , so it may lead to a situation where news papers headlines are talking of this or that Jallad {Hangman } frequently . If the society approves and awards death penalty in rape cases , it is likely to endanger the life of rape victim to destroy the evidence. This is what happened recently with unfortunate rape victim in Hyderabad. Not every where cameras are installed to provide actionable leads in crime detection. I am not saying that rape is not heinous crime. but imposition of heavy financial penalty, longer imprisonment will also prove potent deterrent. And most important is speed with which investigation is completed and initial trial and subsequent appeals by decided.
If you think, this was just a gangrape, then you don’t know the case. Please read about it. They pulled out someone’s intestines while the person was still alive. That is murdering someone in the most brutal way.
Punishment is something that undergoes after which one realises his error. Therefore Capital Punishment is not really a punishment. It is a process of eliminating people who are irredeemable and unsafe to return to society and whose further existence is a confirmed danger to society.
It is therefore not revenge nor does it have anything to do with the views of the victims or their relatives.
>> “A quarter of the convicts were acquitted (such as former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani). ”
By including Maya Kodnani in the article the author reveals his bias. What was the compulsion to name Maya Kodnani? Because she is related to the Gujarat riots when Modi was CM ?
This is a bogus reason not to carry out death penalty. Punishment certainty and extent of punishment are not mutually exclusive. Why everything needs to be politicized. Whether politics or not, death penalty is certainly a deterrent to heinous crime.
Mr Shekhar Gupta, what is wrong with you? Why are you publishing rubbish like this? This is a tweet blown into a thousand words. It is a cry. There is no new insight, no fresh thinking, no new angle, no new legal line. It is the very same old argument against capital punishment. Whether this line of thinking is correct or not, is not the point. The author has, after all, hedged himself by saying that the views are personal. But isn’t it the same old thing being regurgitated?
The core of the problem is, journalism is slipping into activism. You, Mr Shekhar Gupta, are an outstanding journalist, with long years of experience in the profession and have seen all the major events of the recent Indian history from the ringside. YOU, more than anyone else, should guard against activists taking over journalism.
Please.
I’m also a member of the profession. I feel sad that you are letting it happen.
Good suggestion by Shivam. However, to balance the act, all Indian librandus be hanged in place of rapists so that Indian society become peaceful..
And moreover why are bringing politics into it?
Your logic that if one criminal is not punished then no criminal should be punished stinks like a rotten apple.
Let not your hatred for BJP color all your articles
Mr.shivam vij
We must also give rs.10 lakhs each to start a new life
We must also give them compensation for the time spent in jail
And also why not an award for their couragey act
It is a shame
As long as people like you keep supporting the rapists the rapes in the country is only going to increase
It is equally sad that we are not even humane enough to empathize with the victim’s family
Total nonsense In this paper.
Death penalty for heinous crimes is sheer common sense in a vast country like ours. But justice should be quick.
bhejo isko unki cell mein to give company till the time they are not hanged.
Being civil to a criminal?! What an oxymoron!
This guy is a liability on the print. He wants terrorists and killers to roam free. The cases which he is comparing with other ones does not make any sense as death penalty is awarded after through procedure. May be those didn’t deserve. But the convicts who are given death penalty, the process must be carried out.
I also support your views. These people are critical of every good thing.
If death penalty is not carried out, rapist and murderers will get emboldened.
When ur own gets raped, only then u realise what death penalty really is ! It gives a sense of relief to the victims family.