Delhi high court to decide today if two of Dec 16 gang-rape convicts can be hanged separately AAP raises issue in Rajya Sabha, Javadekar blames Delhi govt
Centre challenged postponement after one of them moved court for stay on death warrant in wake of pending mercy plea
nNEW DELHI: The Delhi high court (HC) will pronounce its judgment Wednesday on a plea by the Central government challenging the postponement of the hanging of the four convicts in the 2012 December 16 gang rape case after one of them had moved the court seeking a stay on the death warrant in wake of his pending mercy petition before the President.
Justice Suresh Kait is likely to pronounce the verdict at 2.30pm Wednesday which would also decide if two of the four convicts—mukesh Singh and Vinay Sharma, whose mercy pleas have been rejected by the President—can be hanged individually.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had challenged the January 31 order of the single-judge bench stopping the death warrant till further orders stating that the four convicts cannot be hanged separately according to the Delhi Prison Rules (DPR), 2018.
The four convicts—mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Kumar Gupta (25), Akshay Thakur (31) and Vinay Sharma (26)—are on death row for the gang rape and assault of a 23-year-old paramedic student inside a moving bus on December 16. The young woman died in a hospital in Singapore on December 29, 2012.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta opposed the finding on Saturday as well as at a special hearing on Sunday, stating that the rules have been wrongly interpreted by the trial court. He said the convicts are making a mockery of justice by using deliberated, calculated actions to frustrate the mandate of the law.
However, senior advocate Rebecca John had blamed the
Centre and Delhi government for the delay in execution of the death sentence. She said both of the governments “were sleeping all these years and have suddenly woken up”. She added that the convicts have the right to exhaust all remedies till their last breath.
The court had then reserved the order on Sunday.
On Tuesday, advocate Jitendra Kumar Jha, counsel for the 23-year-old paramedic student, mentioned the matter before Justice Suresh Kait and sought its speedy disposal.
NEW DELHI: The delay in hanging of the convicts in the December 16, 2012, gang-rape case figured in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demanding the intervention of the President or the chief justice of India (CJI) in the matter.
Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the matter was “very sensitive and serious” and the court judgement must be implemented at the earliest.
Raising the issue during the morning session, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said despite the punishment awarded to the four convicts, their hanging was being postponed.
He said political remarks were being made regarding the case.
Singh said while the entire country was on the streets following the gang rape in 2012, the culprits have been able to get a new date every time to delay the execution.
“Tarikh per Tarikh (date after date),” Singh said, in an apparent reference to a famous dialogue of the film ‘Damini’ revolving around a rape trial.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Congress MPS, who were raising slogans against the citizenship amendment law, NRC and NPR, stopped sloganeering as the issue was discussed.
Observing that people were agitated and concerned over the delay in execution of the court order, Chairman Naidu said those in the system must fulfill their responsibilities.
He said the convicts were given all legal opportunities. “We cannot allow such things to go on in the country...
People are getting restive...it must be seen that judgement is implemented at the earliest,” he said.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar blamed the Delhi government for the delay in executing the punishment.
“The appeal of the convicts was rejected by the Supreme
Court in 2017 but jail authorities took more than a year to complete the process for informing the convicts. The delay is due to the state government,” Javadekar said in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister’s comment came on Sanjay Singh’s request for intervention of the President and the Supreme Court for speedy execution of the death sentence.
The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as ‘Nirbhaya’ (fearless), was gangraped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.
The brutality of the crime shook the nation, leading to country-wide protests and a change in India’s rape laws.
(With ANI inputs)
NEWDELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Board of Studies of each school of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to place their recommendations before the Academic Council on how the remaining classes of the monsoon semester and the exams can be conducted. The directive came after some teachers and students challenged the varsity’s decision to conduct online exams.
Justice Rajiv Sakhdher granted time to the University to file their report in the court and posted the matter for February 10. In their plea filed through advocates Samiksha Godiyal and Abhik Chimni, the petitioners have contended that the VC of JNU does not have the power to allow such form of examinations when the entire curriculum had not been covered in the various schools and special centres under the university.
On the JNU students union’s (JNUSU) call , students had boycotted their classes for around two months and the end-semester examination over the increase in hostel fee hike.
The administration conducted the examination using alternative methods such as email and Whatsapp, inviting ire of the student and teaching community. While classes for the previous semester have started on campus, teachers had moved the court challenging the decision to conduct the online examination.
›
The appeal of the convicts was rejected by the Supreme Court in 2017 but jail authorities took more than a year to complete the process for informing the convicts. The delay is due to the state government. PRAKASH JAVADEKAR, Union minister