Nirbhaya rape case: Convict moves Delhi HC claiming juvenility, hearing on Thursday

In a shocking development in the Nirbhaya case, convict Pawan Kumar on Wednesday, has moved the Delhi High Court claiming that he was a juvenile at the time of the offense, filing a criminal revision petition. The convict has claimed that the ossification test (which is done to ascertain the age of the subject) was not conducted in December 2012 and that he should be given the benefit of that. The Delhi HC has agreed to hear the matter on Thursday.

Nirbhaya case: Next hearing on Jan 7, time granted to convicts for legal remedies

Convict moves HC claiming juvenility

The convict has claimed that the claim of juvenility can be raised at any time even after the final disposal of the case in his plea. Furthermore, the convict has asked that he should be treated as a juvenile under the juvenile justice act while demanding the relevant tests to be performed to settle the question of juvenility. The Bombay High Court had previously ruled that the bone ossification test is by itself not conclusive proof of age.

Supreme Court dismisses review plea of convict in Nirbhaya rape and murder case

Court adjourns hearing to January 7, one week for mercy plea

Meanwhile, the Patiala House Court has adjourned the hearing in the 7-year-old Nirbhaya rape case to January 7. The Court has given one week to the convicts' to file mercy plea and time till January 7 to exercise all their remaining legal remedies. While Nirbhaya's counsel pushed for the immediate issue of a death warrant, the convicts' counsel said that one of the convict Vinay Sharma will file for a mercy petition to the President. As another convict too has stated he will file for mercy petition and curative plea, the judge has stated that 'more than enough time till January 7' has been granted.

Abha Singh on Nirbhaya: 'The SC needs to get a time frame for such rape and murder cases'

SC dismisses review plea

The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna dismissed the review petition of Akshay Singh, one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case. The bench stated that all the aspects of the case had already been dealt with by the trial court, High Court and the SC, saying there was no merit in the plea. While the convict's counsel A P Singh has demanded 3 weeks to file the mercy petition on behalf of Akshay Singh, the Solicitor general Tushar Mehta has stated that they are constitutionally entitled to 1 week time to file for mercy plea.

Nirbhaya rape case: Court sets Dec 18 hearing date as convict's review plea pending in SC

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. Amid growing demands for the hanging of Nirbhaya rape convicts, Tihar Jail has summoned two hangmen from UP for any scheduled execution.