Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi requests President to reject mercy plea of convict

Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi on Wednesday, January 15, requested President Ram Nath Kovind to reject the mercy petition of the death row convict, Mukhesh Singh, in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case. She said, "They will be hanged on the decided date, no matter which court they approach." 

Singh, who is one of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape case, informed the Delhi High Court that his mercy petition is pending before the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and the President of India. He further stated that he should be given at least 14 days of notice between the rejection of his mercy petition and scheduled date of execution.

Curative petitions dismissed

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court on January 14 dismissed the curative petitions of two of the four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya case. The petition was filed by death row convicts Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh.

Read: NGO PARI writes to I&B Minister seeking live telecast of Nirbhaya's convicts' execution

Death warrant issued

After a seven-year-long wait, the Patiala House Court issued the death warrant for the execution of the four convicts in the case and set the execution date as of January 22 at 7 am. All the convicts were produced before the court via video-conferencing. However, until the final date, the convicts can go through legal remedies. 

Read: Nirbhaya case: SC dismisses convict's curative petition, Asha Devi calls it a 'big day'

Nirbhaya Rape 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 a 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 the 2017 judgment. The Tihar jail administration had issued a notice to the convicts on October 31 last year reminding them about the mercy petition being their last option after exhausting all other legal options.

Read: Nirbhaya: "January 22 hanging not possible,” Delhi govt counsel tells HC

Read: Nirbhaya Case: Convict Mukesh Kumar approaches Delhi HC for relief; hearing on Wednesday

(With ANI Inputs)