Nirbhaya case: Delhi HC rejects Centre's plea seeking separate hanging of 4 convicts

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected the Centre's plea seeking separate hanging of all the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case. "I'm of the opinion that all their death warrants have to be executed together," said Justice Kait, upholding the trial court order. Observing that the convicts are using delaying tactics, the court ordered that the convicts will be given another seven days to exercise their legal remedies. "Convicts have adopted delayed tactics. So, I hereby direct all convicts to exercise their legal remedies within 7 days, after which the court expects the authorities to act as per the law," said Justice Suresh Kumar Kait.

"Convicts are taking shelter of Article 21 which provides protection to them till their last breath. I have no hesitation to say that all the convicts waited, for reasons best known to them, to file their review petitions after more than 150 days. Akshay filed his review after delay of more than 900 days," the order noted. 

The judge added that the Rules 834 and 836 of Delhi Prison Rules do not explicitly contain mercy petition. "I do not agree with the opinion of the trial court that the word 'application' in Prison Rules is a generic term, which shall also include mercy petition," said Justice Kait. 

The order came on the Centre's plea challenging stay on execution of four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait had on February 2 reserved order on the Centre's plea after holding special hearings on Saturday and Sunday.

The Centre and the Delhi government challenged the trial court's January 31 order staying "till further orders" the execution of all the four convicts in the case—Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31)—who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

On Tuesday, the parents of the victim urged the court to expeditiously decide the Centre's plea and were assured by the judge that the order would be passed at the earliest. The trial court on January 7, had issued black warrants for the execution of all the four convicts in Tihar jail at 7 AM on January 22. However, they could not be hanged due to pendency of mercy petition of one of them.

Later, on January 17, the trial court fixed February 1, 6am as the hanging date and time. However, on January 31, the trial court again stayed the execution as the counsel for three convicts—Pawan, Vinay and Akshay—urged it to adjourn the matter "sine die" saying their legal remedies were yet to be exhausted.

While the mercy pleas of Mukesh and Vinay have been rejected by the President, Pawan has not yet filed it. Akshay's mercy plea was filed on February 1 and is pending.

The Centre and Delhi government approached the high court on February 1, challenging the trial court's order staying the execution.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing them, had contended that it was a deliberate and calculated design of the convicts to "frustrate mandate of law" by getting their execution delayed and they were not entitled to any more time.

The counsel for the convicts opposed the plea saying it was not maintainable and that the Centre was never a party in the case proceedings before the trial court and while the government was accusing the convict of delay, it has woken up only now.

Nirbhaya, 23-year-old paramedic student, was raped and brutally assaulted on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012 inside a moving bus in south Delhi by six persons, before being thrown out on the road. She died on December 29, 2012 in Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital.

One of the six accused in the case, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail. A juvenile, who was among the accused, was convicted by a juvenile justice board and was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term.

The top court, in its 2017 verdict, had upheld the capital punishment awarded to the convicts by the Delhi High Court and the trial court.