After days of delay, a Delhi court has yet again issued fresh death warrants against the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and muder case, for March 3 at 6 am.
Fresh death warrants have been issued by Additional Session Judge, Dharmender Rana, against the four convicts — Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31).
This warrant is the third warrant issued against them.
January 22, 2019, was the first date of execution, which was postponed to February 1 by a January 17 court order.
On January 31, the trial court stayed ’till further orders’ because the convicts were yet to exhaust all their legal remedies.
Nirbhaya’s mother, Asha Devi, says that the delay is unacceptable.
‘Wasn’t a seven-year delay enough for me and my husband to deal with?’ Asha Devi tells The Logical Indian.
‘The system is appalling me with every passing day. I am tired and exhausted, but mostly I am furious. These convicts are being given chances every few days to escape death,’ she adds.
Asha Devi blames the convicts’ lawyers, including AP Singh who represents Akshay and Vinay, for trying to ‘misuse the laws.’
‘I am sure the laws were laid down, when they were, with good intentions. But at this moment, in my daughter’s case, it holds no value. The lawyers representing the men who brutally ended my daughter’s life are helping the convicts misuse the law that allows them to file multiple petitions,’ she says.
‘These convicts are delaying the process by individually filing the petitions, one after the other. And here we are, awaiting justice for seven years. I am not even sure that March 3 is the final date. Anything can happen,’ she adds.
Convict Mukesh has told the court that he does not wish to be represented by advocate Vrinda Grover, following which advocate Ravi Qazi was appointed to represent him.
The Supreme Court last week appointed senior advocate Anjana Prakash to represent convict Pawan.
Nirbhaya’s father, Badrinath Singh, says that his faith in the system is completely shattered.
‘I have lost faith in the justice system,’ Badrinath Singh tells The Logical Indian. ‘The procedures are slow, the flawed system allows perpetrators to misuse the law and evade being brought to justice. My fight will be on until things change. It’s not just about my daughter, it’s about keeping all the daughters of India safe.’
‘The justice system is pathetic. The lawyers are at fault. They, along with the convicts, are making the best use of the faulty system,’ he adds.
While all four convicts are supposed to be hanged on March 3, lawyer AP Singh has claimed that many legal remedies are still left.
Accusing political parties and media of pressurizing the judgement, he said, ‘We will avail our legal remedies and proceed against the verdict of the court.’
Also Read: ‘India Won’t Tolerate Five Deaths To Avenge One’: Nirbhaya Convicts’ Lawyer To Media
