Nirbhaya death-row convict now goes to lieutenant governor

TNN | Mar 10, 2020, 04.17 AM IST

NEW DELHI: One of the death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, Vinay Sharma, on Monday approached lieutenant governor Anil Baijal’s office seeking commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment.

The LG office confirmed that it had received a petition from Vinay Sharma’s lawyer. “The petition has been forwarded to Delhi government’s home department for its comments. Appropriate decision will be taken on the basis of the department’s views,” an official said.

The convict moved the LG’s office through his counsel A P Singh, who filed a plea under Sections 432 (power to suspend or remit sentences) and 433 (power to commute sentence) of CrPC.

Sharma, in his petition, described his life behind bars and what he faced during his confinement. The plea urged the lieutenant governor to allow Sharma’s lawyer to make oral submission before him. “Along with other nuances of the petitioner’s case, the entirety of physical and mental torture suffered by the petitioner could be best conveyed to your excellency only by means of an oral hearing,” it said.

A city court has set March 20 as the date for execution of the four death-row convicts — Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Akshay Thakur and Vinay Sharma.