A Delhi Court on Monday gave March 3 as the fresh date for execution of all four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case.
Patiala House Court in its order said that the sentence would be executed at 6 am on March 3.
After the Delhi court pronounced it order issuing execution of the convicts, Asha Devi, Nirbhaya’s mother said, “I am not very happy as this is the third time that death warrant has been issued. We have struggled so much, so I am satisfied that death warrant has been issued finally. I hope they (convicts) will be executed on 3rd March.”
Asha Devi, Mother of 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim: I am not very happy as this is the third time that death warrant has been issued. We have struggled so much, so I am satisfied that death warrant has been issued finally. I hope they (convicts) will be executed on 3rd March. https://t.co/lUI3flqwzU pic.twitter.com/gkuYNnGocX
— ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2020
Special Public Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan apprised the court about the current status of the case and also stated that three out of four convicts have already exhausted their legal remedies.
And as of date, there is no petition pending in any court, Mohan said.
He also mentioned that Delhi High Court had given seven-day time to the convicts and that period is over.A Delhi court had adjourned the hearing for February 17 on the plea of the state and Nirbhaya’s parents seeking issuance of death warrant as a petition challenging the rejection of mercy plea of convict Vinay Kumar Sharma was pending before the Supreme Court.
On Friday, the apex court had dismissed Sharma’s petition.
President Ram Nath Kovind had also rejected the mercy petitions of convicts Akshay Thakur and Mukesh Singh.Earlier, Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana reserved the order after hearings during which Mukesh Kumar Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the case told the court that he does not want to be represented by advocate Vrinda Grover.
The court then appointed advocate Ravi Qazi to represent Mukesh.
The court was also informed that another death row convict, Vinay Sharma, is on hunger strike in Tihar jail.
Vinay was assaulted in jail and has head injuries, his lawyer told the court, adding that he was suffering from acute mental illness and hence the death sentence cannot be carried out.
The court directed the Tihar jail superintendent to take appropriate care of Vinay as per law.
Another convict Pawan Gupta’s counsel told the court that he wanted to move curative petition before the Supreme Court and the mercy plea against the death sentence before the President.
Gupta is the only one among the four convicts who has not yet filed the curative petition — the last legal remedy available to a person, which is decided in-chamber. He also has the option of filing a mercy plea.
Akshay Kumar’s counsel informed court that he has prepared fresh mercy petition to be moved before the President.
The court was hearing the applications by Nirbhaya’s parents and the Delhi government, seeking fresh death warrants for the four convicts after the Supreme Court granted liberty to the authorities to approach the trial court for issuance of fresh date for the execution of these convicts.
Asha Devi on Monday voiced hope that fresh death warrants would be issued against all four convicts by a Delhi court on Monday.