Deliberate, calculated design to frustrate mandate of law by Nirbhaya convicts: SG to HC

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Sunday told the Delhi High Court that there is "deliberate, calculated and well thought of design" by Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case convicts to "frustrate" mandate of law by getting their execution delayed.

READ: Nirbhaya's Mother 'hopeful' Of Justice After Delhi HC issues Notice To Tihar And Convicts

Mehta told Justice Suresh Kait that convict Pawan Gupta's move of not filing curative or mercy petition is deliberate, calculated inaction. Nirbhaya case convicts are playing with judicial machinery and trying the patience of the nation, Mehta said. "There is deliberate, calculated and well thought of design to frustrate mandate of law," the Solicitor General told HC. Advocate A P Singh is advancing arguments for convicts Akshay Singh (31), Vinay Sharma (26) and Pawan (25) opposing Centre's plea to set aside stay on execution of death sentence. The fourth convict is Mukesh Kumar (32).

The high court is hearing Centre's plea challenging stay on the execution of the four death row convicts in the case. The proceedings are currently underway. The 23-year-old paramedic student, referred to as Nirbhaya, 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.

READ: Nirbhaya Convicts Issued Notice By Del HC On Plea Against Execution Stay, Hearing On Feb 2