Nirbhaya convict Akshay Thakur seeks President's pardon after indefinite stay on execution

After the indefinite stay on the hanging of the Nirbhaya convicts, the third convict - Akshay Thakur has filed a mercy petition before the President of India. This development occurs after President Ram Nath Kovind rejected Vinay Sharma's mercy petition. Akshay Thakur had previously moved the Supreme Court seeking review of its 2017 judgment awarding death penalty putting forth arguments including 'Satyug', Delhi AQI, and even the wedding of the rapist's sister - the review petition was rejected. 

Nirbhaya case: Centre slams 'exploitation of judicial process' as court stays execution

Execution delayed

Earlier on Friday, the Patiala House Court deferred the execution of all the 4 convicts in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case until further orders.  This development comes a few hours after the Supreme Court dismissed the review plea of Pawan Kumar Gupta, a convict in the Nirbhaya case, against the apex court's verdict on whether he was a juvenile at the time of committing the crime. On Thursday, the curative plea of another Nirbhaya convict Akshay was dismissed by the apex court.

Execution of Nirbhaya's rapists stayed till further orders; no hanging at 6 am on Feb 1

Nirbhaya case proceedings

Currently, SC has rejected all convicts review petition while the president has rejected two convicts' mercy plea and has received the third one. The Supreme Court has rejected three convicts' curative petition, while one is yet to file curative petitions. The Jallad (executioner) Pawan Kumar has already reported to  Tihar Jail and performed a dummy execution after the Patiala House court set an execution date on  January 22 and later extended it to February 1.

Nirbhaya rapists' jail diary reeks of depravity; filled with horrific sketches, lewd poems

The Nirbhaya case

A 23-year-old paramedic student Nirbhaya was gang-raped inside a running bus by six persons on December 16, 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 reportedly 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 the death penalty 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.

Supreme Court to hear Nirbhaya convict Akshay Singh's abominable review plea on Dec 17