Among the convicts, Vinay Sharma had appealed for an open hearing, to eliminate what he called “systemic and political bias” against him
New Delhi: On Monday two of the four rapists in the Nirbhaya case filed the last possible legal appeal against their death sentence, drew a blank at the Supreme Court. A five-judge bench headed by Justice N V Ramana dismissed the petition of Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh after an in-chamber hearing. A mercy petition before the president is now the only option left for the convicts, whose execution is after a few days.
The apex court has already turned down review petitions against the death sentence from three of the convicts, and a mercy petition from a fourth has been turned down.
Among the convicts, Vinay Sharma had appealed for an open hearing, to eliminate what he called “systemic and political bias” against him. He had said after an execution his entire family would be destroyed. “The petitioner’s father earns a meager living. The family has no savings and live in the RK Puram Harijan Basti,” the petition mentioned.
After the Delhi court issued a death warrant in the name of the convicts last week the curative petition was filed. The four men Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Akshay Kumar Singh — who had raped and tortured a 23-year-old medical student in Delhi seven years ago, are to be hanged at 7 am on January 22.
In the Nirbhaya case, the main accused, Ram Singh, was found hanging in his cell in March 2013. The sixth, who was just short of 18 when the crime was committed, was released after three years at a reform home.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
