NIRBHAYA CASE
Execution nears, but Tihar has no hangman
Rajshekhar.Jha@timesgroup.com
New Delhi:3.12.2019
With options running out for the Nirbhaya convicts, their execution seems imminent. However, Tihar officials are a worried lot as the jail doesn’t have a hangman.
A source told TOI that senior jail officials are weighing their options as the execution may be conducted in one
month. The convicts could be hanged any day after the court issues a “Black Warrant” sanctioning their execution. The warrant would be issued after rejection of their mercy petition by the President.
During the last hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the Tihar administration was caught off-guard as the developments unfolded overnight.
In most likelihood, Tihar will not appoint a hangman even this time and hire someone on a one-time contract. “Executions don’t happen often in our system as the death penalty is given in rarest of rare cases. So, having a full-time hangman is not viable. Also, it’s difficult to find a full-time employee for this job description,” a jail official explained. This time, only one of the convicts, Vinay Sharma, filed the mercy petition. The Tihar administration forwarded it to Delhi government, which sent it to the lieutenant governor recommending that the petition be rejected given the severity of the crime. “The LG will send the file to Union ministry of home affairs, which will present it before the President. The President’s decision will be conveyed to Tihar Jail, which will move court requesting a Black Warrant if the petition is rejected,” a government official said.
The other convicts — Mukesh, Pawan and Akshay — didn’t file the mercy petition despite the Tihar administration giving them a week’s time.
Execution nears, but Tihar has no hangman
Rajshekhar.Jha@timesgroup.com
New Delhi:3.12.2019
With options running out for the Nirbhaya convicts, their execution seems imminent. However, Tihar officials are a worried lot as the jail doesn’t have a hangman.
A source told TOI that senior jail officials are weighing their options as the execution may be conducted in one
month. The convicts could be hanged any day after the court issues a “Black Warrant” sanctioning their execution. The warrant would be issued after rejection of their mercy petition by the President.
During the last hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the Tihar administration was caught off-guard as the developments unfolded overnight.
In most likelihood, Tihar will not appoint a hangman even this time and hire someone on a one-time contract. “Executions don’t happen often in our system as the death penalty is given in rarest of rare cases. So, having a full-time hangman is not viable. Also, it’s difficult to find a full-time employee for this job description,” a jail official explained. This time, only one of the convicts, Vinay Sharma, filed the mercy petition. The Tihar administration forwarded it to Delhi government, which sent it to the lieutenant governor recommending that the petition be rejected given the severity of the crime. “The LG will send the file to Union ministry of home affairs, which will present it before the President. The President’s decision will be conveyed to Tihar Jail, which will move court requesting a Black Warrant if the petition is rejected,” a government official said.
The other convicts — Mukesh, Pawan and Akshay — didn’t file the mercy petition despite the Tihar administration giving them a week’s time.
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