Death warrants issued against Nirbhaya convicts — will be hanged on January 22

• Death warrants have been issued against the four convicted in the Nirbhaya rape case.
• Their executions have been scheduled on January 22 at 7 am.
• Nirbhaya’s mother believes this judgement will restore the faith of women in the judicial system.

Delhi’s Patiala House Court today issued death warrants against the four convicted in the Nirbhaya rape case, seven years after the crime shook the nation.

Originally, the police arrested six individuals in connection with the case. One of the assailants, Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in jail. Another, a juvenile, was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term.

The remaining four — Akshay, Mukesh, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma — will be executed on January 22 at 7 am in Jail Cell 3 in Tihar Jail. The same place where Afzal Guru, the terrorist behind India’s Parliamentary attack, was hanged.

“The order will restore the faith of women in law,” Nirbhaya's mother, Asha Devi, told reporters outside the courthouse. "I am happy with the court's decision. The convicts will be hanged at 7 am on 22nd January; This decision will instil fear in people who commit such crimes," said her father, Badrinath Singh.

Preparations for the executions have been well underway for over a month like special ropes are being brought in from Buxar Jail.

The gang-rape that led to death

In 2012, a 23-year-old paramedical student was gang-raped and brutally assaulted on the intervening night of December 16 inside a moving bus. After the abuse, she was thrown out of the vehicle at an isolated juncture.

Though alive, she was brutally wounded. On December 29, she gave in to her injuries and passed way at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

Thousands of people marched on the street across the country to protest against the judicial system. The case led to the government setting up the Nirbhaya Fund — a ₹10 billion corpus which helps state governments facilitate women safety services.

The government also introduced a Nirbhaya Act in April 2013, that mandates strict punishments for sex crimes.