Nirbhaya rape case: SC rejects pleas filed by 3 of the 4 convicts to reduce death penalty to life term; uphold death sentence order

The Supreme Court pronounced its verdict on 2012 brutal Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case on Monday said, the four men guilty of raping and torturing a student on a moving bus in Delhi will hang confirming its earlier decision and rejecting the convicts' request for a life term.

The Supreme Court while reviewing the pleas filed by 3 of the 4 convicts seeking a reduction of their death sentence to a life term dismisses it and its earlier order of death sentence. The top court's decision came on a review plea filed by three of the four convicts seeking a reduction of their death sentence to a life term.

The convicts, however, have one more legal option of challenging their sentence before they appeal to the President for mercy. "There is no material to review our order," said three judges led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, on the review petition of Mukesh, 29, Pawan Gupta, 22 and Vinay Sharma, 23.

The fourth nirbhaya rape convict, Akshay Kumar Singh, 31, has not filed a review petition against the Supreme Court's judgement in May last year.

"They were not juveniles. It is unfortunate that they committed such . This decision reaffirms our trust in the court that we will definitely get justice," says Asha Devi, mother of 2012 Delhi victim.

"We knew that review petition will be dismissed. But what next? So much time has gone by & threat to women have gone up in this span. I believe sooner they're hanged, better it is," says Badrinath Singh father of the rape victim.

According to the prosecution, the 23-year-old paramedical student was brutally assaulted and raped by six persons in a moving bus in South Delhi. The accused thrown out the girl and her male friend on the night of December 16, 2012. She subsequently died during the treatment at a Singapore hospital on December 29 the same year.

Out of the six convicts, prime accused in the case Ram Singh had allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar jail in 2013 during the trial. Another accused was found out by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) as a minor and sentenced him to three years term at a probation home.