Nirbhaya convicts to hang on March 3

16:09 February 17

Nirbhaya convicts to hang on March 3

New Delhi:Delhi's Patiala House Court on Monday issued a fresh date for execution of death warrants for March 3 at 6 am for the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana issued fresh warrants against death row convicts -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31).

The court was hearing the applications by Nirbhaya's parents and the Delhi government, seeking fresh death warrants for the 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.

Though she expressed satisfaction at the court order, Nirbhaya's mother said she wasn't completely pleased as this is the third death warrant to be issued.

"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," she said.

Read:Nirbhaya's mother protests outside court over delay in hanging of convicts

The date of execution, first fixed for January 22, was postponed for 6 am on February 1 by a January 17 court order. The trial court later, on January 31, stayed, "till further orders" the execution of the four convicts in the case, who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

Pawan 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 has not filed the mercy plea either.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.

Read:SC issues guidelines to speed up death penalty cases

Six people including the four convicts, Ram Singh and a juvenile -- were named as accused.

The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court in March 2013.

Ram Singh, the prime accused, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Tihar jail days after the trial began. The juvenile, who was said to be the most brutal of the attackers, was put in a correctional home for three years.

The juvenile was released in 2015 and sent to an undisclosed location amid concerns over a threat to his life. He, when released, was 20 years old.

Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were sentenced to death in September 2013 by the trial court which was challenged by them in higher courts.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)