President rejects mercy plea of Nirbhaya convict 

 

Delhi govt. seeks fresh date for hanging 

05/03/2020 , Special Correspondent , New Delhi

President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday rejected the mercy petition of Pawan Gupta, one of the four men on death row in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case.

Gupta was the last to file the mercy plea. The petitions of the other three convicts had been rejected earlier by the President.

Later, the Delhi government moved a city court seeking a fresh date for the execution of the four convicts.

According to the 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.

The Delhi government told additional sessions judge Dharmendra Rana that “all legal remedies of the convicts have been exhausted”.

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.

The hanging of Mukesh Kumar Singh, 32, Vinay Sharma, 26, and Akshay Kumar Singh, 31, besides Gupta, 25, was scheduled for March 3. It was deferred for the third time in six weeks by the court on Monday.