Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has welcomed the order of the Supreme Court in the Nirbhaya case. Said Maneka to THE WEEK, “I am happy that justice has been delivered in the case. The whole country is happy. This ruling will definitely act as a deterrent for anyone intending to commit crime of violence against women. The Union government, on its part, has been making efforts to create a ring fence of security around women so that they are protected from heinous crime. The universal helpline for women is being progressively expanded to different states. Panic button has now been made mandatory for new mobile phones. Efforts are on to install this facility through software modifications in the existing phone as well.”
The Supreme Court upheld the death penalty for the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder while hearing an appeal filed by the four convicts challenging the Delhi High Court’s order in 2014. “If ever a case called for hanging, this was it,” said the three judges—Dipak Mishra, Ashok Bhushan and Banumathi, while reading out the judgement.
