Nirbhaya convicts' lawyer AP Singh now approaches NHRC in desperate bid to stay executions

In another bid to save the Nirbhaya Gang rape and murder convicts, advocate AP Singh, their lawyer, has now approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking a stay on the execution of the four death row convicts, which is scheduled to take place on March 20.

"We have appealed the NHRC to stay the March 20 death warrant, which is a miscarriage of justice. The basis for the appeal is that Ram Singh, who was believed to have committed suicide in Tihar Jail, has a 70-year-old mother and a 10-year-old son," Singh told reporters.

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He has alleged that Ram Singh did not commit suicide but was killed in jail. He further added that Mukesh Singh, his brother, is the only witness of the incident and hence should not be executed. 

"At that time, it was suspected that Ram Singh had committed suicide. Now that the book 'Black Warrant' has come out, it is clear that Ram Singh was lynched and jail officials were involved in it," Singh said.

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"The probe into the alleged suicide was biased. Yet compensation has not been given to the family of the deceased. Mukesh is the only witness to the incident. If he is executed in a hurry, it will be a miscarriage of justice and a violation of the human rights," he added.

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The development comes after three of the four rape convicts approached the United Nation's International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a desperate attempt to stall the execution. Akshay Singh, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma approached the ICJ on Monday when the fourth convict, Mukesh Singh, was told by the Supreme Court that he had no legal remedy left after his mercy petition and curative plea were both rejected. However, the ICJ is an institution under the United Nations set up to resolve differences between countries and not individuals of the same country. The execution of the four convicts is scheduled at 5.30 AM on March 20.

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