Not only is the sentence meted out to the young boys from impoverished background too harsh, but our fear is that it will set a bad precedent and serve to dilute the "rarest of rare" premise upon which a verdict of death penalty must hinge as per our criminal jurisprudence. While most countries are moving towards abolition of death penalty, this is a move in the reverse direction.

On the verdict in the 2013 Mumbai gang rape, as quoted in "Opinion: Why I oppose death for rapists" Mumbai Mirror (5 April 2014)