Lawyers for four men sentenced to death for raping and murdering a young woman on a New Delhi bus challenged the verdicts at a High Court hearing today.
The men walked under police escort from a bus into the court complex. Three had their faces uncovered in public for the first time since their arrest, while one wore a handkerchief tied over his nose and mouth.
The men were sentenced this month for the attack last December, when they lured the 23-year-old student and her male companion onto a bus in the Indian capital. They beat the friend and gang-raped the woman, including with an iron rod. She died from internal injuries two weeks later.
The crime sparked public debate and fury over chronic sexual violence faced by women in India.
Today, the men each raised a hand when called on by the judge, but they did not speak in the court.
“I am challenging this verdict,” said A.P. Singh, who has defended all four men at various times. All death penalty cases in India must be confirmed by a higher court. As part of the proceedings, the High Court said it would begin hearing prosecution arguments supporting the guilty verdicts and death penalties, while the defence lawyers file their appeals.
It could take weeks or months for the court to decide whether to confirm the execution orders.
Another defendant hanged himself in prison and an 18-year-old who was a juvenile at the time of the attack was sentenced to a maximum of three years in a reform home.
