The Mumbai HC passes a verdict on Shakti Mill gangrape

The Mumbai HC today has announced a death sentence to the convicts responsible for the 2013 Shakti Mill gangrape. The convicts gang-raped a photojournalist when she was clicking a few snapshots of the abandoned area at Shakti Mill. Amongst the three perpetrators, one of them was a 17-year-old juvenile.

Under an amendment to section 376 (e) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), repeat offenders in rape cases faced life imprisonment or the death penalty says Bombay HC. This means the accused will face life imprisonment till their actual death. “The manner in which the offense was committed reflects the depravity of the accused,” says Principal session judge Shalini Phansalkar – Joshi while announcing the life term.

A division bench of Justice B P Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite Dere dismissed petitions filed by three convicts in the Shakti Mill gangrape case challenging Constitutional validity of the legal provisions under which they were sentenced to death in 2014. The amendment for the repeat offenders was made after the gangrape of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi 2012. Under section 376 ( e ) of the IPC, repeat offenders in rape cases faced life imprisonment or the death penalty.