Nirbhaya case convicts' hanging on March 3 put off

Nirbhaya case

Published : Mar 2, 2020, 11:17 AM IST

Updated : Mar 2, 2020, 8:18 PM IST

17:33 March 02

Nirbhaya case convicts' hanging on March 3 put off

Delhi's Patiala House Court has stayed the execution of the four convicts in 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case and deferred the matter for further orders.

The court has deferred the matter as the mercy petition of one of the convicts, Pawan Kumar Gupta is pending before the President of India.

The court again deferred the execution of the four convicts in Nirbhaya rape and murder case, slated for Tuesday, till further orders.

"Despite a stiff resistance from the victim's side, I am of the opinion that any condemned convict must not meet his Creator with a grievance in his bosom that the courts of this country have not acted fairly in granting him an opportunity to exhaust his legal remedies," Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana said.

"I am of the opinion that the death sentence cannot be executed pending the disposal of the mercy petition of the convict. It is hereby directed that the execution of death warrants against all the convicts scheduled for March 3 is deferred till further order," he added.

16:55 March 02

Nirbhaya case: Court to pronounce order shortly on Pawan's plea to stay execution

A Delhi court will shortly pronounce order on 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder convict Pawan Kumar Gupta's plea to stay execution as he has filed a mercy petition before the President on Monday.

Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana, while reserving judgement on Pawan's fresh plea to stay the death warrant for Tuesday morning, rapped the convict's lawyer for acting so late in filing the curative and mercy pleas.

Pawan's curative plea was rejected by the Supreme Court earlier in the day.

The trial court had earlier in the day dismissed Pawan's and Akshay Kumar Singh's applications for staying their death warrants.

15:12 March 02

Nirbhaya case: Court reserves order on Pawan's plea for stay on hanging

Delhi's Patiala House Court on Monday reserved order on a fresh application seeking stay on the execution of death-row convicts in Nirbhaya rape case.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana was hearing an application filed by one of the convicts, Pawan, seeking stay on the hanging as his mercy petition is pending before the President. The order on the application will be pronounced shortly.

The fresh application was moved after the court dismissed their application seeking stay on hanging earlier on Monday.

Pawan filed the mercy petition after his curative petition was rejected by the Supreme Court in the morning on Monday.

The four convicts: Akshay Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma and Akshay Kumar are scheduled to be hanged at 6 a.m. on March 3.

During the course of proceedings, the court rapped the counsel representing the convicts for acting late. "One wrong move by anybody, and you know the consequences," the judge told lawyers.

Both the Tihar jail authorities and counsel for victim told the court that the application is not maintainable.

The President will seek the status report from jail authorities and they will suo moto stay the execution, Tihar told the court, adding that the jail officials are aware about filing of the mercy plea.

The case pertains to the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old girl, dubbed later as Nirbhaya, in the national capital in December 2012. Six people, including the four convicts and a juvenile, were named as accused.

Ram Singh, the sixth accused, allegedly committed suicide in Tihar jail days after the trial began in the case. The juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.

14:45 March 02

The mother of the 2012 gangrape and murder victim, who came to be known as Nirbhaya, on Monday said the convicts in the case, who are on death row, are misleading the courts, but asserted that she trusts the justice system.

Her comments came after one of the four convicts Pawan Kumar Gupta filed a mercy plea before the President.

"These people are misleading the court. I have trust in the justice system of India and we still have strong believe on it that finally they will be hanged tomorrow," she told reporters.

On Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed the curative petition filed by Gupta in the case, following which his lawyer A P Singh said he filed the mercy plea before the President.

Singh said the mercy plea was filed after getting information that the apex court had dismissed Gupta's curative petition.

13:24 March 02

Nirbhaya case: Court dismisses pleas of 2 convicts to stay execution; Pawan files mercy plea

A Delhi court Monday dismissed the pleas of two of the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case which sought stay on the execution of their death warrants, scheduled for Tuesday morning.

The court decided however to hear the lawyer of one of the two convicts, Pawan Kumar Gupta, after it was informed that he has filed a mercy plea before the President after his curative petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court earlier in the day.

Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana asked Pawan's lawyer, A P Singh, to come post lunch to argue on why stay of execution be granted.

The court dismissed the applications for stay moved by Pawan and co-convict Akshay Kumar Singh.

After the order was passed, Pawan's lawyer informed the court that he has filed a mercy plea before the President and the execution be stayed.

Akshay, in his application for stay, had said that he has filed a fresh mercy petition before the President of India, which is pending.

He contended that his earlier mercy petition which was dismissed by the President did not have complete facts.

Pawan had taken the ground that he has filed a curative petition before the Supreme Court. He had also said that he had an option to file a mercy petition.

Both the convicts told the court further that a number of other petitions are also pending before the Supreme Court and other authorities.

13:19 March 02

Death row convict Pawan Kumar Gupta files mercy plea before President

Death row convict in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case Pawan Kumar Gupta on Monday filed a mercy plea before the President of India, his lawyer A P Singh said.

The lawyer said he filed the plea after getting information that the Supreme Court had dismissed Gupta's curative petition.

Earlier in the day, the apex court dismissed the petition, saying no case is made out on the curative petition filed by convict Gupta.

11:12 March 02

Nirbhaya case convicts' hanging on March 3 put off

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a curative petition filed by convict Pawan Kumar Gupta who was sentenced to death in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

A five-judge bench headed by Justice N V Ramana said that no case is made out for re-examining the conviction and the punishment of the convict.

Other members of the bench were justices Arun Mishra, R F Nariman, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.

"The application for oral hearing is rejected. The application for stay of execution of death sentence is also rejected. The curative petition is dismissed...," the bench, also comprising Justices Arun Mishra, R F Nariman, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan, said.

In his curative plea, Pawan had sought commutation of his death penalty to life imprisonment.

He had also sought a stay on the execution of black warrant issued by the trial court for the hanging.

The trial court had on February 17 issued fresh date for execution of death warrants for Tuesday at 6 am for the four convicts -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31) -- in the case.

The mercy petitions of three convicts -- Mukesh, Vinay and Akshay -- have already been dismissed by the President.

The apex court had earlier dismissed separate pleas filed by Mukesh and Vinay challenging the rejection of their mercy petitions by the President.

While Akshay has not yet challenged the rejection of his mercy petition, Pawan has not yet filed a mercy plea before the President.

On December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as ''Nirbhaya'' (fearless), was gang raped and savagely assaulted in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died after a fortnight.

Six people, including the four convicts and a juvenile, were named as accused. Ram Singh, the sixth accused, allegedly committed suicide in Tihar jail days after the trial began in the case.

The juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.