Hyderabad: A Delhi court has issued a death warrant against all 4 convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape case. The execution is scheduled to be held on January 22 at 7 am.
The lawyers representing the convicts have said that they would file a curative petition at the Supreme Court.
The Delhi Court, however, said that the convicts can use their legal remedies within 14 days.
On December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old paramedical student was brutally gang-raped by six men and left on the street to die in the cold December night.
While Nirbhaya eventually succumbed to her injuries, her family awaited justice.
Here's a chronology of what transpired on December 16 and what followed:
2012:
Dec 16: A paramedical student out with her male friend was gang-raped and brutally assaulted by six men in a private bus and thrown out of the moving bus on the streets
Dec 17: Police identifies four men- bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and a juvenile - behind the crime
Dec 18: Police arrests all four accused
Dec 21: The accused juvenile is nabbed from Anand Vihar bus terminal in Delhi. The woman’s male friend identifies Mukesh as one of the culprits. Police conducts raids in Haryana and Bihar to nab the sixth accused, Akshay Thakur
Dec 22: Sixth accused Akshay Thakur gets arrested in Bihar. Victim records her statement before the SDM in hospital
Dec 23: Protests break out in various parts of Delhi; prohibitory orders are defied and on-duty Delhi Police constable Subhas Tomar is rushed to the hospital with serious injuries
Dec 25: Nirbhaya's condition declared critical whereas Subhas Tomar succumbs to his injuries
Dec 26: Nirbhaya flown to Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital by the government following a cardiac arrest
Dec 29: Victim succumbs to her injuries at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore at 2:15 am
2013:
Jan 2: The then Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir inaugurates fast track court for speedy trial in sexual offence cases
Jan 3: Police files charge-sheet against the five adult accused of offences including murder, gang rape, attempt to murder, kidnapping, unnatural offences and dacoity
Jan 5: Court takes cognisance of the chargesheet
Jan 7: Court orders in-camera proceedings
Jan 17: Fast-track court starts proceedings against the five accused
Jan 28: Juvenile Justice Board confirms that the fifth accused is a minor
Feb 2: Charges are framed against the five adults
Feb 28: Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) frames rape, murder charges against the juvenile accused
Mar 11: Bus driver and main accused Ram Singh commits suicide in Tihar jail
Mar 22: Delhi High Court allows media to report trial court's proceedings
Jul 5: Juvenile Justice Board concludes trial; verdict reserved for July 11
Jul 8: Fast-track court completes recording of testimonies of prosecution witnesses
Jul 11: The juvenile is held guilty of illegally confining and robbing a carpenter on the night of December 16, before the incident
Aug 22: Fast-track court begins final arguments against the remaining four accused
Aug 31: JJB finds the juvenile accused guilty of rape and murder, sentences him to three years in a special home
Sept 3: Fast-track court concludes trial
Sept 10: Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan found guilty of 13 offences including grangrape and murder.
Sept 13: Four remaining accused sentenced to death by Additional Sessions Judge. Trial court refers the case to Delhi High Court for confirmation of death sentence
Sept 23: High Court begins hearing the death sentence references sent by the trial court
2014:
Jan 3: High Court reserves verdict on the convicts' appeal
Mar 13: Delhi HC upholds the trial court verdict
Mar 15: Supreme Court issues stay-order on the death sentence
April 15: The police is ordered by the top court to produce Nirbhaya's dying declaration
2015:
Dec 18: Delhi HC refuses to stay the release of the juvenile
Dec 20: The juvenile - who was a few months short of 18 on December 16, 2012 - is released from the correctional home, triggering widespread protests across the country.
2016:
Apr 3: Hearings begin in SC
Apr 8: Senior advocates Raju Ramchandran and Sanjay Hegde appointed amicus curiae
May 5: SC upholds death penalty of four accused - Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh
Aug 29: Police is accused of tampering with evidence
Nov 7: Advocate Raju Ramchandran argues for sentencing order to be set aside
Nov 28: Advocate Sanjay Hegde argues against reliability of evidence in the case
2017:
Feb 3: SC decides to rehear the case on the sentencing aspect after the petitioners contend that there are violations in the procedure
Mar 27: SC reserves verdict after nearly a year of hearing the case
May 5: SC rejects the plea by four convicts challenging death penalty
Nov 13: The convicts appeal to the apex court to review the sentence
2018:
May 4: SC upholds the order on the plea of three convicts seeking a review of its 2017 verdict upholding the death penalty
Also read: Death sentence to Nirbhaya convicts: Who said what?
July 9: SC dismisses review petitions of three convicts. Fourth convict Akshay did not file a review petition.
2019:
Dec 10: Nirbhaya case convict Akshay Singh files review petition in Supreme Court against the death penalty
Dec 17: Akshay Singh's review petition was rejected by three-Judge SC Bench of CJI SA Bobde, R Banumathi, and Ashok Bhushan
2020:
Jan 7: All four convicts issued death warrant by a Delhi Court. Execution scheduled to be held on January 22 at 7 am
