However, the convicts’ lawyer AP Singh, said rules dictate that others cannot be hanged while the mercy petition of one of them is pending
New Delhi: Tihar jail authorities on Friday challenged before a Delhi high court the maintainability of the application filed by three death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case. Authorities also asked for a stay of their execution on February 1.
Opposing the petition, the prison authorities said Additional Sessions, Judge Dharmender Rana, that the mercy petition of only one convict in the 2012 rape and murder case is pending, and the other three convicts can be hanged as scheduled in the death sentences.
However, the convicts’ lawyer AP Singh, said rules dictate that others cannot be hanged while the mercy petition of one of them is pending. Singh also requested the court to adjourn matter “sine die”
On Thursday the court had issued notice to the jail authorities seeking their response on the petition of the death row convicts seeking a stay on their executions.
Representing three death row convicts are Pawan Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma and Akshay Kumar advocate AP Singh requested the court to adjourn the executions “sine die” as legal remedies of some of the convicts are yet to be availed.
On January 17 the trial court issued the death sentence for the second time for the execution of all the four convicts in the case are Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay and Akshay in Tihar jail at 6 am on February 1. Earlier, on January 7, the trial court had declared January 22 as the hanging date.
Till now, only Mukesh has exhausted all his legal remedies, including the clemency petition which was dismissed by President of India Ramnath Kovind on January 17 and the appeal against the rejection was thrown out by the top court on Wednesday.
The victim, a 23-year-old medical student who came to be known as “Nirbhaya”, was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, inside the bus in South Delhi. Nirbhaya died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.
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