October 5, 2025

LAW DHARMA

Your Legal Destination

Hanging may not be sufficient for Rapists

The Supreme Court today dismissed the Review Petitions filed for reviewing the judgment dated 05-05-2017 whereby the death penalty to Rapists in the Nirbaya case has been confirmed.  The review jurisdiction of any court is very limited. The Supreme Court referred the  the judgment   in Sow Chandra Kante and another v. Sheikh Habib, (1975) 1 SCC 674 speaking through Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer on review has stated the following in para 10:

“10. A review of a judgment is a serious step and   reluctant   resort   to   it   is   proper   only where a glaring omission or patent mistake or like   grave   error   has   crept   in   earlier   by judicial   fallibility.   A mere   repetition, through   different   counsel,   of   old   and overruled   arguments,   a   second   trip   over ineffectually covered ground or minor mistakes of   inconsequential   import   are   obviously insufficient”

Relying upon very many judgments, the Supreme Court has rightly dismissed the review petitions and dismissed the plea of Alibi raised by one of the accused Vinay Sharma and dismissed the plea of Juvenility.

Read the judgment hereNirbaya Review