New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain Centre’s plea seeking stay on a Delhi High Court order for simultaneous execution of all four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contended that the moment authorities move for death warrant, the one accused, who is yet to exhaust mercy petition to the President and curative petition, would move the mercy plea to stall execution of all convicts on death row.
A bench headed by Justice R. Banumathi and comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and A.S. Bopanna insisted that the Centre should move the trial court for issuance of fresh date for death warrants.
“If nothing is pending then you (Centre) can ask for fresh warrants,” said Justice Bhushan.
Mehta informed the court that except for Pawan, the remaining three accused have exhausted all legal remedies available at their disposal.
The apex court observed that none of the four convicts have taken any step within one week time, which was given by the Delhi High Court. Therefore, in this scenario, the Centre may move the trial court for issuance of fresh date for execution of death warrants.
Mehta also cited the alleged encounter of accused in the Hyderabad gang rape and murder case.
He contended that convicts were trying the patience of the nation. “People will stop having faith in the judicial system. Seven years have gone by and the convicts are playing the judicial system, and I am still struggling for death warrants.
It is in situations like this that people celebrate encounter killings,” Mehta contended before the bench.
The apex court has kept the petition of Centre for further hearing on Thursday and said that this pendency would not preclude trial court to issue appropriate orders in the matter.
Notice issued to Nirbhaya convicts on death warrant
A Delhi court on Tuesday issued notice to four convicts in Nirbhaya rape and murder case on an application filed by the Delhi government and Tihar jail authorities seeking issuance of a fresh date for their hanging.
The court was told that “no legal remedy” is preferred by the convicts during the one-week time granted to them by the Delhi High Court.
The High Court had on February 5 given them a weeks’ time to avail of their legal remedies. The time period ended on Tuesday following which the city government and jail authorities moved the court.
The matter is slated to be heard at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
The case pertains to the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old girl in the national capital in December 2012.
The execution of the four convicts, originally scheduled for January 22, was postponed to February 1. But it was deferred again on January 31 after Mukesh filed an application before a Delhi court contending that other convicts are yet to avail of the legal remedies and that they cannot be hanged separately.
Three of the four convicts — Vinay, Akshay and Mukesh — have exhausted their legal remedies. The fourth convict, Pawan, has not yet availed of the remedy of curative and mercy petitions, which will be the last judicial and constitutional resort for him.
