Govt rushes to SC after HC gives convicts 7 days for legal remedies

Convicts Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta. File pic

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Wednesday said all the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case have to be executed together, not separately, and dismissed the Centre's plea against the trial court's order staying the execution of their death sentence. The Centre and the Delhi government immediately moved the Supreme Court challenging the HC's order. The trial court had on January 31 stayed "till further orders" execution of the four convicts - Mukesh Kumar Singh, 32, Pawan Gupta, 25, Vinay Kumar Sharma, 26, and Akshay Kumar, 31, lodged in Tihar jail.

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait directed the convicts to exhaust within seven days all the legal remedies after which the authorities should act as per law. "It cannot be disputed that the convicts have frustrated the process by using delaying tactics," it added

Asha Devi, Nirbhaya's mother

3rd mercy plea rejected
While President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday rejected the mercy plea of Akshay, those of Mukesh and Vinay had been rejected earlier, and Pawan has not yet filed it. The HC also criticised the authorities for the delay in seeking death warrants for the convicts.

The Delhi government had moved the court for issuance of black warrants, two years after the supreme court in 2017 had dismissed the review petition against the confirmation of death penalty. "All the authorities concerned were sleeping" and waited till December 2019 "for reasons best known to them" to seek issuance of death warrants, it said.

'Enough with security lollypop, women want equality, jobs too'

While political parties are sweating it out to woo the electorate ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, women voters in the national capital feel manifestos should offer more to them than limiting their demands to safety issues. Women of different age groups and from varied demographics feel that political parties assume that they should talk to women voters only about their security and prevention of sexual crimes, though they would prefer to be treated simply as voters irrespective of their gender.

Rani Devi, a 52-year-old house help, said, "Everybody needs security but what about ground issues. At least we get free travel in buses now, what will we do with the promises of security? Give us what everybody else is entitled to". Rekha Gautam, 20, a college student, is unimpressed that whenever any candidate meets women to seek votes, they give the example of Nirbhaya. "It's time political parties start seeing women voters as more mature individuals rather than giving the security lollypop to us," she said.

Healthcare professional Nishtha Tomar, a Rajouri Garden resident, said while there is talk of gender equality in households and workplaces, there is no such equality among voters.College student Nisha Mishra wants the parties addressing issues like menstrual health.

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