Convict in Nirbhaya case petitions the President seeking withdrawal of mercy plea

Vinay Sharma, one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case moved a plea before President seeking immediate withdrawal of his mercy petition as he claims that the mercy plea sent to the President by Union Home Ministry wasn't signed and authorized by him. The counsel for Sharma cited the availability of other judicial remedies such as a curative petition in the SC and the pendency of a case pertaining to whether he was a juvenile at the time of committing the crime as reasons for the mercy plea to be withdrawn. In the meantime, the President has been requested to not take any decision on the mercy petition.  

Read: Watch: Delhi Government Recommends Rejection Of Mercy Plea Of Nirbhaya Case Convicts

Read: Nirbhaya Rape And Murder Case: MHA Forwards Mercy Petition Of Convict To President

Read: MHA Receives Mercy Petition Of Convict In Nirbhaya Case, To Be Sent To The Prez: Sources

The Nirbhaya case

A 23-year-old paramedic student Nirbhaya was gang-raped inside a running bus by six persons on December 16 in 2012 in Delhi. The victim was severely assaulted and thrown out on the road along with her male friend and succumbed to injuries a few days later. Out of the six convicts, one committed suicide in prison, while another, a juvenile, served maximum punishment of three years in a reform home and was set free in 2015. The remaining four rapists were convicted and handed death sentence by a trial court in 2013, confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014. The Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court's verdict in 2017. In July 2018, the SC rejected the review pleas filed by the three convicts for a re-examination of its 2017 judgment. The Tihar jail administration had issued a notice to the convicts on October 31 this year reminding them about the mercy petition being their last option after exhausting all other legal options. 

Read: Parents Of Nirbhaya Petition President; Demand The Mercy Plea Of Convict To Be Rejected