Hail the verdict

The aggravating circumstances far outweigh mitigating circumstances, the three-judge bench of the Apex Court ruled thus in the Nirbhaya case on Friday, upholding the lower court's judgment and thus bringing down curtains on one of the defining points in the crime history of India.

The investigation was watertight in the case and the court accepted every argument of the prosecution in turning down the plea of rapists in the brutal case that saw nationwide protests erupt over the ghoulish manner in which Nirbhaya was savaged.

Everyone in the packed court room had just one prayer ahead of the pronouncement of judgment and came the moment of the verdict there was wild applause all over.

Yes, any number of arguments could be heard against the capital punishment but the details that emerged in the aftermath of the rape appalled every one.

The inhuman manner in which the 23-year-old physiotherapist was gang-raped by six men including one juvenile on December 16, 2012, in a moving bus, and the barbaric fashion her intestines were pulled out with a rod pitted the nation against the culprits.

The protests triggered across the nation drew the attention of the world which too mourned Nirbhaya's departure. All this led to a serious debate across the country forcing the lawmakers to join hands in demanding rarest of the rare punishment to such rapists in the country.

It resulted in Nirbhaya Act. One of the accused Ram Singh reportedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail while undergoing the sentence but the others seem to have been remorseless. The Juvenile escaped the gallows. However, this led to a huge debate on the Juvenile Laws too leading to a bitter argument between the protagonists of Juveniles Rights and opponents.

Has any of this brought down the crimes? Against women, in particular? Statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau indicate that there were a total of 3,27,394 cases of crime against women during the year 2015 as compared to 3,37,922 the year before. The crimes continuously increased during 2011-2014 with 2,28,650 recorded in 2011, 2,44,270 in 2012, 3,09,546 in 2013 and 3,37,922 in 2014.

Uttar Pradesh with 16.8 per cent share of female population reported 10.9 per cent of total crimes committed against women in the country by registering 35,527 cases and West Bengal, which accounts for 7.4 per cent of population, recorded 33,218 cases during 2015. Rape cases reported during the said year were 34,651 in the country alongside 4,437 cases of attempt to rape.

This goes to prove that Nirbhaya Act does not deter the perpetrators of crime against women. The three-member Bench headed by Justice Deepak Mishra hoped that the verdict may lead to an end to violence against women in the country.

Stringency of the Laws alone does not end crime unless the society in general turns saner. Societies which do not respect women or which treat them as inferior keep committing crimes against them. India is no exception.