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Nirbhaya: Centre seeks dismissal of convict's plea; SC reserves its judgment

Nirbhaya case

Nirbhaya case

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Published : Jan 28, 2020, 8:11 AM IST

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Updated : Jan 28, 2020, 5:41 PM IST

15:28 January 28

Defence lawyer AP SIngh reacts to the Nirbhaya case hearing

The Centre on Tuesday sought dismissal of the plea of one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case against rejection of his mercy plea and said that being ill-treated in prison cannot be a ground for mercy to one who has committed such a heinous crime.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a three-judge bench headed by Justice R Banumathi that the convict, Mukesh Kumar Singh, was not kept in solitary confinement as alleged and no ground of commutation has been made out.

Mehta told the bench, also comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna, that the entire material was sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs to President for deciding mercy plea of Singh.

He also told the bench that the power of judicial review of the apex court is very limited in such cases and said the delay in deciding his mercy plea would have a dehumanising impact.

President has to satisfy himself regarding pardon and not look into each procedure, Mehta told the bench adding that the President is not sitting in appeal against judgements of all courts in the case.

The top court questioned Singh as to how he can allege "non application of mind" by the President in rejecting his mercy petition and claim that all facts were not placed before the President when he dealt with the mercy plea.

"How can you say that these facts were not placed before his excellency the President? How can you say that there was non-application of mind by the President," the bench asked senior advocate Anjana Prakash.

15:24 January 28

Supreme Court reserves its judgment on the petition filed by Mukesh challenging the rejection of his mercy plea by the President for tommorow.

15:20 January 28

Prakash asked for permission to examine the documents in the court premises itself which was rejected.

Justice Bhanumathi says that it is just for the satisfaction of the court.

15:16 January 28

Hate the sin, not the sinner. From Gandhi ji's time, this is the principle. Otherwise there will be more custodial deaths and encounters: Prakash

15:12 January 28

Where is the case diary, where is the charge sheet. Is it in the Supreme Court registry? The documents have to be in court your lordships know this: Prakash

Mehta intervenes to say that solitary confinement can not be the reason for mercy.

Replying back, Prakash said: "It is about someone's life here."

15:07 January 28

The reply filed by the State is evasive. Does The affidavit by the joint secretary of Home affairs satisfy anyone....what was the relevant record cited by Mehta: Prakash

Where did he file this affidavit that he was not kept in solitary confinement? He (Mehta) was just trying to satisfy your lordships: Prakash

It is enough that he has seen all the documents. Is it how it is presented before the court? Next time we won't file Affidavits: Prakash

He sends the trial court Judgement. Not the High Court and Supreme Court Judgements: Prakash

15:03 January 28

Delay can be an argument but deciding mercy expeditiously can never be an argument. Because when a person faces death sentence he dies every day and that has a dehumanising effect: Mehta

How president examines is his sole concern: Mehta

The jailer does not advise the President. He only tells about the medical ailments: Mehta

Mehta concludes his arguments.

14:57 January 28

Addressing the allegations of sexual abuse Mehta said: "That can not be a ground for deciding the mercy. They have the right to approach the court, this can not be used for mercy."

He was never kept in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement means that he is totally cut off with no contacts: Mehta

For security reasons he was placed in a room with iron bars. He was not kept from seeing other people or mixing up with others: Mehta

14:55 January 28

Reply to RTI Act, contains merely the letter of jail authorities and not the entire material of MHA which was sent to the President: Mehta

14:52 January 28

The delay was for 7 8 years in deciding: Mehta

Referring judgement from Shatrughan Chauhan case, Mehta said: "Any delay in execution of a convict has a dehumanizing effect and has directed the State to conduct executions expeditiously."

The accused delayed in filing the curative Petition. Continued to delay the death by saying that he is filing the curative and mercy petition: Mehta

The said application was processed immediately with the relevant record: Mehta

President on 16 January after detail examination rejected on 17: Mehta

14:51 January 28

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta begins to make his submissions.

14:42 January 28

It is being said that we are delaying. Today is 28 and the execution is on 1. Before that the matter can be decided afresh: Prakash

Only Tihar jail authorities gave a reply to the RTI. The President and MHA did not give: Prakash

14:27 January 28

Speaking about convict Ram Singh Prakash said: "Black warrant written by former jailer Sunil Gupta writes that Ram Singh was murdered. I know the persons who killed Ram Singh. Is public consciousness not moved by what was done to him?"

If the evidence is not submitted then how the trial court will admit that the accused committed the crime: Prakash

News websites were already flashing the news that the Delhi government has rejected and forwarded to LG at a lightning speed. LG forwards to MHA on 15 January: Prakash

No doubt that the President was just supposed to sign it. He signed it pre-lunch: Prakash

14:25 January 28

Citing Mukesh's statements, Advocate Prakash claimed: "I was sentenced to death for the rape of 23 year old but was I also sentenced to rape? Beatings took place regularly from the first day. Was forced to have sexual intercourse with one of the four convicts."

Prakash asked: "Where are the medical records? The petitioner had submitted an affidavit in the court describing the details but the judges did not consider."

Can not eat, can not sleep. Prescribed medicines have also not help. Also, urge to enquire into the death of Ram Singh. He had 95% disability in his arm, how could he hang himself: Prakash

Lawyer for one of the convicts(Mukesh) in Supreme Court: "You have to apply your mind at each and every step. You are playing with somebody's life(on powers conferred to the President with regard to mercy plea). I(Mukesh) was beaten mercilessly after coming to jail."

14:11 January 28

The lower court records were not there. We had taken up the issue that case diary was something else, charge sheet was something else. The case diary was not there: Adv Anjana Prakash

Two things in a case. One is judicial Verdict- It stands as it is. Independent of that there has to be a body to examine: Prakash

14:11 January 28

The bench reassembles for the hearing of Mukesh's plea.

13:23 January 28

The court will assemble at 2 pm now.

13:21 January 28

Trial court, High Court and Supreme Court have considered all this: Justice Bhanumathi

Justice Bhanumati asked, "How can you say that there was a non-application of mind?"

The material was not sent. The judgements were also not sent: Prakash

13:19 January 28

Citing convict Mukesh's statements Prakash said: "I am not responsible for the loss of her life, rape her or did anything to cause her death. My DNA did not match.No injuries were found on my body."

The conclusion that the court derives are contradicting to the evidence- Prakash

Trial court did not even hear him- Prakash

13:10 January 28

It is well-settled law that to deprive a person of his life and liberty has to be of considerable reason: Prakash

Solitary confinement can be only after the mercy petition has been rejected but we have seen that invariably they have been kept in it. Various jail visits have confirmed this and the court has taken this view: Prakash

Necessary material such as police records, Supreme Court and High Court proceedings record etc needs to be sent to the president. All these materials have not been sent: Prakash

The judgments of this court have held a death sentence but in no way has it said to compromise with the procedure: Prakash

Sorry to say legal aid was given to the Nirbhaya convicts as late as in 2014- Prakash

13:10 January 28

Solitary confinement and procedural lapses was there in this case: Advocate Anjana Prakash

Procedural lapses have caused great injustice to the accused and to the family of the accused. MHA has detailed procedures but it was not followed- Prakash

In all cases were mercy petition has to be transferred to President, it has to be transferred as expeditiously as possible. It enables the convict that if any new material is found in the case his mercy petition has to be reconsidered: Prakash

13:08 January 28

The power vested in by the president is a constitutional duty, it is not a matter of grace or privilege: Prakash

The Judicial review of the president or governor can be imputed on these grounds: Prakash

The order is maladie and relevant material has been kept out. The order suffers from arbitrariness: Prakash

12:49 January 28

Hearing on the petition of convict Mukesh, challenging the rejection of his mercy petition by the President, begins in the Supreme Court.

07:25 January 28

Nirbhaya: Centre seeks dismissal of convict's plea; SC reserves its judgment

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday the plea of Mukesh Kumar Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, against the dismissal of his mercy petition by President Ram Nath Kovind on January 17.

The trial court has issued black warrants for the execution of all the four convicts -- Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma and Akshay Kumar -- at 6 AM on February 1.

As the last-ditch attempt, Mukesh through his counsel on Tuesday sought an urgent hearing on his plea against dismissal of the mercy plea before the top court.

"If somebody is going to be hanged then nothing can be more urgent than this," a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said while assuring Mukesh's lawyer that his plea would be given due weightage by the mentioning officer.

"Execution case will be given top priority," said the bench, which also comprised Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant.

Later in the day, the mentioning officer considered the urgency of Mukesh's plea and ordered its listing before a three-judge bench comprising Justices R Bhanunathi, Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna at 12.30 PM tomorrow.

Mukesh had moved the mercy plea after the Supreme Court dismissed his curative petition against his conviction and death sentence. The apex court had also rejected the curative petition of another death row convict Akshay (31).

The other two convicts, Pawan (25) and Vinay, are yet to file curative petitions before the Supreme Court.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as "Nirbhaya" (the 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.

Six people -- Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan, 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.

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

Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were convicted and sentenced to death in September 2013.

On Saturday, a Delhi court said that no further directions were required on a plea by the lawyer of the death row convicts alleging that prison authorities were not handing over certain documents required to file mercy and curative petitions, and disposed of the petition.

Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Jain said the convicts' lawyer can take pictures of the relevant documents, diary and paintings from the Tihar jail authorities.

The court had noted that the jail authorities had already complied with the request made by the convicts by supplying the documents whatever was lying with them.

(With inputs from PTI)

15:28 January 28

Defence lawyer AP SIngh reacts to the Nirbhaya case hearing

The Centre on Tuesday sought dismissal of the plea of one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case against rejection of his mercy plea and said that being ill-treated in prison cannot be a ground for mercy to one who has committed such a heinous crime.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a three-judge bench headed by Justice R Banumathi that the convict, Mukesh Kumar Singh, was not kept in solitary confinement as alleged and no ground of commutation has been made out.

Mehta told the bench, also comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna, that the entire material was sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs to President for deciding mercy plea of Singh.

He also told the bench that the power of judicial review of the apex court is very limited in such cases and said the delay in deciding his mercy plea would have a dehumanising impact.

President has to satisfy himself regarding pardon and not look into each procedure, Mehta told the bench adding that the President is not sitting in appeal against judgements of all courts in the case.

The top court questioned Singh as to how he can allege "non application of mind" by the President in rejecting his mercy petition and claim that all facts were not placed before the President when he dealt with the mercy plea.

"How can you say that these facts were not placed before his excellency the President? How can you say that there was non-application of mind by the President," the bench asked senior advocate Anjana Prakash.

15:24 January 28

Supreme Court reserves its judgment on the petition filed by Mukesh challenging the rejection of his mercy plea by the President for tommorow.

15:20 January 28

Prakash asked for permission to examine the documents in the court premises itself which was rejected.

Justice Bhanumathi says that it is just for the satisfaction of the court.

15:16 January 28

Hate the sin, not the sinner. From Gandhi ji's time, this is the principle. Otherwise there will be more custodial deaths and encounters: Prakash

15:12 January 28

Where is the case diary, where is the charge sheet. Is it in the Supreme Court registry? The documents have to be in court your lordships know this: Prakash

Mehta intervenes to say that solitary confinement can not be the reason for mercy.

Replying back, Prakash said: "It is about someone's life here."

15:07 January 28

The reply filed by the State is evasive. Does The affidavit by the joint secretary of Home affairs satisfy anyone....what was the relevant record cited by Mehta: Prakash

Where did he file this affidavit that he was not kept in solitary confinement? He (Mehta) was just trying to satisfy your lordships: Prakash

It is enough that he has seen all the documents. Is it how it is presented before the court? Next time we won't file Affidavits: Prakash

He sends the trial court Judgement. Not the High Court and Supreme Court Judgements: Prakash

15:03 January 28

Delay can be an argument but deciding mercy expeditiously can never be an argument. Because when a person faces death sentence he dies every day and that has a dehumanising effect: Mehta

How president examines is his sole concern: Mehta

The jailer does not advise the President. He only tells about the medical ailments: Mehta

Mehta concludes his arguments.

14:57 January 28

Addressing the allegations of sexual abuse Mehta said: "That can not be a ground for deciding the mercy. They have the right to approach the court, this can not be used for mercy."

He was never kept in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement means that he is totally cut off with no contacts: Mehta

For security reasons he was placed in a room with iron bars. He was not kept from seeing other people or mixing up with others: Mehta

14:55 January 28

Reply to RTI Act, contains merely the letter of jail authorities and not the entire material of MHA which was sent to the President: Mehta

14:52 January 28

The delay was for 7 8 years in deciding: Mehta

Referring judgement from Shatrughan Chauhan case, Mehta said: "Any delay in execution of a convict has a dehumanizing effect and has directed the State to conduct executions expeditiously."

The accused delayed in filing the curative Petition. Continued to delay the death by saying that he is filing the curative and mercy petition: Mehta

The said application was processed immediately with the relevant record: Mehta

President on 16 January after detail examination rejected on 17: Mehta

14:51 January 28

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta begins to make his submissions.

14:42 January 28

It is being said that we are delaying. Today is 28 and the execution is on 1. Before that the matter can be decided afresh: Prakash

Only Tihar jail authorities gave a reply to the RTI. The President and MHA did not give: Prakash

14:27 January 28

Speaking about convict Ram Singh Prakash said: "Black warrant written by former jailer Sunil Gupta writes that Ram Singh was murdered. I know the persons who killed Ram Singh. Is public consciousness not moved by what was done to him?"

If the evidence is not submitted then how the trial court will admit that the accused committed the crime: Prakash

News websites were already flashing the news that the Delhi government has rejected and forwarded to LG at a lightning speed. LG forwards to MHA on 15 January: Prakash

No doubt that the President was just supposed to sign it. He signed it pre-lunch: Prakash

14:25 January 28

Citing Mukesh's statements, Advocate Prakash claimed: "I was sentenced to death for the rape of 23 year old but was I also sentenced to rape? Beatings took place regularly from the first day. Was forced to have sexual intercourse with one of the four convicts."

Prakash asked: "Where are the medical records? The petitioner had submitted an affidavit in the court describing the details but the judges did not consider."

Can not eat, can not sleep. Prescribed medicines have also not help. Also, urge to enquire into the death of Ram Singh. He had 95% disability in his arm, how could he hang himself: Prakash

Lawyer for one of the convicts(Mukesh) in Supreme Court: "You have to apply your mind at each and every step. You are playing with somebody's life(on powers conferred to the President with regard to mercy plea). I(Mukesh) was beaten mercilessly after coming to jail."

14:11 January 28

The lower court records were not there. We had taken up the issue that case diary was something else, charge sheet was something else. The case diary was not there: Adv Anjana Prakash

Two things in a case. One is judicial Verdict- It stands as it is. Independent of that there has to be a body to examine: Prakash

14:11 January 28

The bench reassembles for the hearing of Mukesh's plea.

13:23 January 28

The court will assemble at 2 pm now.

13:21 January 28

Trial court, High Court and Supreme Court have considered all this: Justice Bhanumathi

Justice Bhanumati asked, "How can you say that there was a non-application of mind?"

The material was not sent. The judgements were also not sent: Prakash

13:19 January 28

Citing convict Mukesh's statements Prakash said: "I am not responsible for the loss of her life, rape her or did anything to cause her death. My DNA did not match.No injuries were found on my body."

The conclusion that the court derives are contradicting to the evidence- Prakash

Trial court did not even hear him- Prakash

13:10 January 28

It is well-settled law that to deprive a person of his life and liberty has to be of considerable reason: Prakash

Solitary confinement can be only after the mercy petition has been rejected but we have seen that invariably they have been kept in it. Various jail visits have confirmed this and the court has taken this view: Prakash

Necessary material such as police records, Supreme Court and High Court proceedings record etc needs to be sent to the president. All these materials have not been sent: Prakash

The judgments of this court have held a death sentence but in no way has it said to compromise with the procedure: Prakash

Sorry to say legal aid was given to the Nirbhaya convicts as late as in 2014- Prakash

13:10 January 28

Solitary confinement and procedural lapses was there in this case: Advocate Anjana Prakash

Procedural lapses have caused great injustice to the accused and to the family of the accused. MHA has detailed procedures but it was not followed- Prakash

In all cases were mercy petition has to be transferred to President, it has to be transferred as expeditiously as possible. It enables the convict that if any new material is found in the case his mercy petition has to be reconsidered: Prakash

13:08 January 28

The power vested in by the president is a constitutional duty, it is not a matter of grace or privilege: Prakash

The Judicial review of the president or governor can be imputed on these grounds: Prakash

The order is maladie and relevant material has been kept out. The order suffers from arbitrariness: Prakash

12:49 January 28

Hearing on the petition of convict Mukesh, challenging the rejection of his mercy petition by the President, begins in the Supreme Court.

07:25 January 28

Nirbhaya: Centre seeks dismissal of convict's plea; SC reserves its judgment

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday the plea of Mukesh Kumar Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, against the dismissal of his mercy petition by President Ram Nath Kovind on January 17.

The trial court has issued black warrants for the execution of all the four convicts -- Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma and Akshay Kumar -- at 6 AM on February 1.

As the last-ditch attempt, Mukesh through his counsel on Tuesday sought an urgent hearing on his plea against dismissal of the mercy plea before the top court.

"If somebody is going to be hanged then nothing can be more urgent than this," a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said while assuring Mukesh's lawyer that his plea would be given due weightage by the mentioning officer.

"Execution case will be given top priority," said the bench, which also comprised Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant.

Later in the day, the mentioning officer considered the urgency of Mukesh's plea and ordered its listing before a three-judge bench comprising Justices R Bhanunathi, Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna at 12.30 PM tomorrow.

Mukesh had moved the mercy plea after the Supreme Court dismissed his curative petition against his conviction and death sentence. The apex court had also rejected the curative petition of another death row convict Akshay (31).

The other two convicts, Pawan (25) and Vinay, are yet to file curative petitions before the Supreme Court.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as "Nirbhaya" (the 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.

Six people -- Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan, 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.

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

Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were convicted and sentenced to death in September 2013.

On Saturday, a Delhi court said that no further directions were required on a plea by the lawyer of the death row convicts alleging that prison authorities were not handing over certain documents required to file mercy and curative petitions, and disposed of the petition.

Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Jain said the convicts' lawyer can take pictures of the relevant documents, diary and paintings from the Tihar jail authorities.

The court had noted that the jail authorities had already complied with the request made by the convicts by supplying the documents whatever was lying with them.

(With inputs from PTI)

Intro:Body:

Nirbhaya case: SC to Mukesh Singh's plea against dismissal of mercy plea

New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday the plea of Mukesh Kumar Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, against the dismissal of his mercy petition by President Ram Nath Kovind on January 17.

The trial court has issued black warrants for the execution of all the four convicts -- Mukesh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma and Akshay Kumar -- at 6 AM on February 1.

As the last-ditch attempt, Mukesh through his counsel on Tuesday sought an urgent hearing on his plea against dismissal of the mercy plea before the top court.

"If somebody is going to be hanged then nothing can be more urgent than this," a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said while assuring Mukesh's lawyer that his plea would be given due weightage by the mentioning officer.

"Execution case will be given top priority," said the bench, which also comprised Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant.

Later in the day, the mentioning officer considered the urgency of Mukesh's plea and ordered its listing before a three-judge bench comprising Justices R Bhanunathi, Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna at 12.30 PM tomorrow.

Mukesh had moved the mercy plea after the Supreme Court dismissed his curative petition against his conviction and death sentence. The apex court had also rejected the curative petition of another death row convict Akshay (31).

The other two convicts, Pawan (25) and Vinay, are yet to file curative petitions before the Supreme Court.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as "Nirbhaya" (the 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.

Six people -- Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan, 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.

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

Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were convicted and sentenced to death in September 2013.

On Saturday, a Delhi court said that no further directions were required on a plea by the lawyer of the death row convicts alleging that prison authorities were not handing over certain documents required to file mercy and curative petitions, and disposed of the petition.

Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Jain said the convicts' lawyer can take pictures of the relevant documents, diary and paintings from the Tihar jail authorities.

The court had noted that the jail authorities had already complied with the request made by the convicts by supplying the documents whatever was lying with them.

Conclusion:

Last Updated : Jan 28, 2020, 5:41 PM IST

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