Nirbhaya case verdict: SC dismisses convict's plea for review of death penalty

15:03 December 18

Senior advocate A P Singh, representing the death-row convict, Akshay Kumar Singh, whose review petition was rejected by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, said that he will file the curative petition soon.   

"I will file the curative petition by today or tomorrow. As out grounds, we will give a list of seventeen rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases in which the death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment," Singh told media persons.

His comments came after a three-judge bench of the apex court dismissed Akshay's review petition today.

Akshay had moved the top court seeking clemency on the ground that the "rising pollution" has already increased the mortality rates. He sought commutation of the death penalty awarded to him and four others.

14:36 December 18

Nirbhaya's parents seek immediate execution of death-row convicts: 

Mercy petitions or fact that convicts want to file mercy petitions does not stop the court from issuing a death warrant: Prosecutor of Nirbhaya case tells court

13:25 December 18

SC rejects review petition of one of the convicts in Nirbhaya Case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the plea of Akshay Kumar Singh, one of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, seeking review of its 2017 judgement upholding his death penalty.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice R Banumathi said there are no ground to review the 2017 verdict and the contentions raised by convict Akshay Kumar Singh were already considered by the top court in the main judgement. 

The bench also comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna, said that review petition is not "re-hearing of appeal over and over again" and the top court had already considered the mitigating and aggravating circumstances while upholding the death penalty to the convict in the 2017 verdict.

The apex court said that it found "no error" on the face of the main judgement requiring any review.

As soon as the bench pronounced the verdict, advocate A P Singh, appearing for convict Akshay, sought three weeks time to file mercy petition before the President.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, told the bench that one week time is prescribed under the law for filing mercy petition.

"We are not expressing our view in this regard. If as per the law any time is available to the petitioner, it is for the petitioner to avail the remedy of filing mercy petition within that stipulated time," the bench said. 

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