The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to constitute a three-judge bench to consider Delhi Police’s plea for a review of its verdict acquitting three death-row convicts in the gangrape and murder of a 19-year-old girl in Delhi’s Chhawla area in 2012.
One of the acquitted convict recently slit a person’s throat, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi Police, told a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala.
“What I am saying is that all these accused who were acquitted are hardened criminals. Therefore, we are seeking review of last year’s verdict,” the Solicitor General said, adding that a three-judge bench headed by then CJI UU Lalit had pronounced the verdict. Vinod, one of the three acquitted, has been arrested for killing an auto driver in Delhi’s Dwarka area last month.
In 2012, the three accused had gangraped a 19-year-old girl, murdered her and mutilated her body with a screwdriver and other weapons. The trial court awarded them the death sentence and the High Court upheld it in August 2014. The apex court set aside the High Court order and acquitted them of the offences in November last year. CJI Chandrachud said the court will constitute a bench comprising himself and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi to hear the review plea.
Mehta requested the court to accord an open court hearing on the review plea. To this, the CJI said it is up to the new bench to decide on the matter. The fresh application was filed by M Harsha Vardhan, deputy commissioner of police of Dwarka district. “It is important to bring forth before this court that the one of the accused Vinod after being acquitted by this court of the conviction and punishment granted to him for offences of kidnapping, gangrape and murder, has after his release, has committed murder of an innocent auto driver when the deceased resisted robbery attempt by the accused,” the application said.