The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has dismissed a plea filed by Ram Bai (70), seeking intervention on the execution of her son, Mukesh Singh, who is one of the four convicts in the gang-rape-and-murder of the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern in December 2012. The case became known as the Nirbhaya case.
Mukesh and the other three convicts—Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta—are to be hanged on March 20 at 5.30am.
In a statement, the NHRC said that it had examined all the claims that the plea had made regarding its intervention to stay the execution of Mukesh. “Upon perusal, the commission has not found any substance sufficient for taking cognisance of the matter... So far as the prayer made by the complainant to stay execution of the death sentence is concerned, it is apparent that the said convict, Mukesh Kumar, has already approached the appropriate authorities and the authorities have exercised their jurisdiction judiciously. The matter is outside the purview of the commission. The complaint is, therefore, dismissed in limine,'' said a statement released by the NHRC.
The plea was filed through advocate A.P. Singh on March 17. The plea made the same arguments that have been repeatedly rejected at every step of the process to argue for commuting the death sentence. The plea said that legal remedies were still pending, that there was still a mystery about the custodial death of Mukesh's brother and co-accused, Ram Singh, and that Mukesh was falsely implicated in the crime. It also said that with pollution and COVID-19 in the air, there were enough threats to a long life, and thus the executions should be stayed.
The NHRC said that the death of Ram Singh had been thoroughly investigated and since there was no foul play found, there was no question of compensation for his death.
A.P. Singh had, a day previously, sent a plea to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, via the embassy of the Netherlands, for intervention on behalf of the other convicts—Akshay, Vinay and Pawan.
With these last-ditch attempts now failing to get any stay, it looks likely that the death sentence will be carried out as per schedule this time. The black warrant in this case has been revoked three times this year, as the convicts kept staggering their pleas. However, all avenues of legal recourse have now been exhausted.
