#Nirbhaya: “There is scope for argument on sentencing”, says amicus Raju Ramachandran

The hearing in the Nirbhaya case the Supreme Court of India witnessed a very interesting development today. Senior Advocate and amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran drew the attention of the court to the sentences awarded to the four convicts..An unforeseen delay on the part of the defence counsel, AP Singh to appear in court when the hearing began, gave Raju Ramachandran the opportunity to make some submissions..Requesting that the Court hear him out, he said that,.“There is serious scope for argument on the sentencing aspect”.The veiled remark by Ramachandran did not divulge the exact nature or scope of his arguments; However, it appears that the amicus did have some significant arguments pertaining to the death sentence given..In the end though, the court adjourned the case, irked by the absence of an Advocate-on-Record in the matter. MM Kashyap, the AoR in question, was hauled up by the Bench for not informing defence counsel AP Singh of the date of hearing. While Justice Dipak Misra threatened to officially inquire into the matter, it was dropped after profuse apologies from Kashyap..As far as the submissions of the amicus are involved, Ramachandran will argue on the sentencing aspect while Sanjay Hegde, the second amicus, will deal with issues relating to evidence. The two were appointed amicus on April 8 this year, with the apex court stating that the amicus would point out the “the possible perceptions” the court could examine.