Delhi gang rape: SC to deliver verdict on convicts' plea
New Delhi, July 8 : The Supreme Court on Monday will pronounce its verdict on pleas filed by the three death row convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang rape case.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Ashok Bhushan would deliver the judgement at 2 p.m. on the review petitions of Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh.
The fourth accused, Akshay Thakur, has not filed a review petition yet.
The convicts' counsel pleaded that the police had implicated the "innocent" persons after failing to arrest the real culprits.
It was contended that the death penalty was not the solution as it was against the principle of non-violence. Further, the convicts were not habitual offenders with a criminal history.
The top court had, in its May 5, 2017 verdict, upheld the death sentences awarded to the four convicts by a trial court and confirmed by the Delhi High Court.
They were convicted for raping and assaulting a 23-year-old para-medical student inside a moving bus on December 16, 2012, which led to her death 13 days later in a Singapore hospital.
The rapists, six in all, had comitted the crime on the woman who had boarded the bus with her male friend to go home after watching a movie.
One of the accused, Ram Singh, committed suicide in Tihar Central Jail here.
The sixth, a minor, was sent to a correction home and has been released after serving his probation period.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
