Top court puts on hold death sentence for two convicts in Delhi gang-rape case

A police bus carrying four men who were found guilty of the fatal gang-rape of a young woman on a bus, arrives at a court in New Delhi September 13, 2013. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi reuters_tickers

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s top court has put on hold the death sentence of two convicts on Monday, defence lawyer A.P. Singh said, in a December 2012 Delhi gang-rape case that sparked nationwide outrage about sexual assaults in India.

The sentences for the convicts, gym instructor Vinay Sharma and bus cleaner Akshay Kumar Singh, were put on hold by the Supreme Court, said Singh.

(Reporting by Sruthi Gottipati; editing by Malini Menon)