Court defers hanging of Nirbhaya convicts
Emotional scenes at Patiala House after order
Exactly 15 hours before they were due to be hanged, the four Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case convicts on Friday got yet another last-minute reprieve as a Delhi court deferred their execution indefinitely.
Convicts Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) — who were due to be executed at 6 am on Saturday — will not be hanged until further court orders.
Additional sessions judge Dharmender Rana passed the order on the plea by the convicts seeking adjournment of the executions “sine die” (with no appointed date for resumption). This is the second time that the execution of the death warrants has been deferred. The first order for execution of death sentence, issued on January 7 for January 22, was stayed on January 17. The second order, issued on January 17, for February 1 was stayed on Friday.
In deeply distressing and emotional scenes outside the Patiala House court complex here, Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi broke down and cried after the execution of the four men convicted in the 2012 gangrape, torture and murder of her 23-year-old daughter was postponed for a second time.
Asha Devi told reporters that the convicts’ lawyer, A.P. Singh, had bragged to her in open court that “the hanging will never happen”. Drawing on seemingly endless reserves of courage and patience, she hit back saying that
I want everyone to hear... I want the Delhi govt to listen... I want the Central govt to listen... the courts and the govt are bowing their heads before these criminals. — Asha Devi,
she would continue to fight for justice and would not stop till the convicts, whom she said “have no right to live”, were hanged.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said it was “sad” that the convicts were “escaping the death sentence” by using legal loopholes. He tweeted: “It saddens me that convicts in the Nirbhaya case are escaping the death sentence by using legal loopholes. They should be immediately hanged. We are in dire need to amend our law so that in cases of rape, hanging takes place within six months.”
In the crowded courtroom, A.P. Singh, counsel for three convicts — Pawan, Vinay and Akshay, urged the judge to adjourn the matter “sine die” saying that their legal remedies were yet to be exhausted. The Tihar jail authorities had challenged their application saying it was not maintainable and death row convicts can be hanged separately. The Tihar authorities’ argument, however, was not accepted by the court.
The convicts’ lawyer argued that the rules dictate that when one convict’s plea is pending, the others cannot be hanged. In the order, the judge noted if an appeal or an application is made by only one convict, the execution of sentence shall be postponed in the case of co-convicts as well.
The judge said: “Without commenting upon the dilatory tactics adopted by the convicts, it would suffice to state that seeking redressal of one’s grievances through the procedure established by law is the hallmark of any civilised society. The courts of this country cannot afford to adversely discriminate against any convict, including death row convicts, in pursuit of his legal remedies, by turning a Nelson’s eye towards him.”
The judge said: “As a cumulative effect of the aforesaid discussion, I am of the considered opinion that the execution of warrants issued by this court vide order dates January 17, 2020 deserves to be postponed till further orders.”