Nirbhaya case: Delhi court defers execution of 4 convicts until further orders

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday deferred the execution of the 4 Nirbhaya case convicts until further orders. The four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case will not be hanged on Saturday morning.

Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31) were scheduled to be hanged on February 1 at 6 am.

This is for the second time that the execution of death warrants has been deferred. The first order for execution of death sentence, issued on January 7 for January 22, was stayed on January 17. The second warrant, issued on January 17, for February 1 was stayed on Friday.

The Tihar jail authorities had challenged their application saying it was not maintainable and the death row convicts can be hanged separately.
The convicts’ lawyer had argued that rules dictate that when one convict’s plea is pending the others cannot be hanged.

The judge said, “Without commenting upon the dilatory tactics adopted by the convicts, suffice it would be to state that seeking redressal of one’s grievances through procedure established by law is the hallmark of any civilised society. The courts of this country cannot afford to adversely discriminate any convict, including death row convict, in pursuit of his legal remedies, by turning a Nelson’s eye towards him.”

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by one of the four death row convicts Pawan Gupta, seeking review of its order rejecting his juvenility claim.