The delaying tactics of the four Nirbhaya convicts have led to their hanging being deferred for the third time in six weeks. The hanging, which was scheduled for March 3, 2020, has been postponed till further orders.
Mon March 2, Monday, Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana said that the execution cannot be carried out because convict Pawan Gupta’s mercy plea is pending before the President. He observed that a convict must not meet his ‘Creator’ while he has grievances against courts for not letting them exhaust their legal remedies fairly.
‘Despite 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 the country have not acted fairly in granting him an opportunity to exhaust his legal remedies,’ the judge said.
‘As a cumulative effect of the discussion, 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 at 6 AM, is deferred till further orders,’ the judge added.
Shortly after 25-year-old Pawan Gupta’s curative petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court, he moved a clemency plea before President Ram Nath Kovind.
The first date of execution – January 22 – was postponed by the court to February 1. On January 31, the court postponed the execution indefinitely.
On February 17, the court issued fresh death warrants as per which the convicts were to be hanged on March 3, which has again been postponed till further orders.
As per Delhi Prison Rules, the convict needs to be given 14 days before his execution following the dismissal of his mercy plea.
Barring Pawan, all the other convicts – Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) – have exhausted their legal remedies.
However, the three other convicts have not been hanged yet because the High Court has decided to hang all the four convicts together.
Also Read: ‘Convicts’ Lawyers Trying To Delay Hanging, Evade Justice’: Nirbhaya’s Parents
