Nirbhaya case: President rejects last mercy plea

Nirbhaya's parents' Advocate, Jitendra Kumar Jha, hugs them outside court. Pic/PTI

The Delhi government on Wednesday moved a city court seeking a fresh date for execution of the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, after President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the last remaining mercy plea in the case.

According to Delhi Prison Rules, a 14-day period has to be given to a death row convict after the dismissal of a clemency plea before the prisoner can be hanged. All the four men are to be hanged together. A Union Home Ministry official said President Ram Nath Kovind has rejected the mercy petition of 25-year-old Pawan Kumar Gupta, one of the four condemned prisoners.

The Delhi government told Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana that all legal remedies of the convicts have been exhausted and nothing survives now.

The judge then directed the convicts to file their response by Thursday even as the lawyer for the prosecution said no notice was required. While issuing the notice, the court said principles of natural justice are part of Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution and the sacrosanct principle of "Audi alteram partem" (listen to the other side) cannot be ignored.

The hanging of Mukesh Kumar Singh, 32, Vinay Sharma, 26, and Akshay Kumar Singh, 31 besides Pawan scheduled for March 3 was deferred for the third time in six weeks by the court on Monday in yet another twist in the case marked by apparent delaying tactics by the condemned prisoners. The President has rejected the mercy petitions of Mukesh, Vinay and Akshay.

Nirbhaya's father expressed hope that the convicts will be hanged this month. "He (Pawan) has one option left - that is to challenge the mercy plea in Supreme Court as the others have done. Let's see what happens next, but we are confident of getting justice," he told PTI over phone.

"We are hopeful that the convicts will be hanged this month and justice will be finally delivered to us after a long wait," he said.

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