Nirbhaya case: SC to hear plea against HC order today

Centre, Delhi govt had moved SC after plea was rejected ◗ The Centre and Delhi government had moved the top court on Wednesday hours after Delhi high court rejected their plea against the trial court order staying the execution of convicts

The Supreme Court will hear on Friday a plea by the Centre and Delhi government challenging the Delhi high court judgment holding that all the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case will be executed together and not individually.

A bench comprising Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Krishna Murari agreed to hear the matter on Friday upon a mentioning by additional solicitor general K.M. Natraj, seeking an urgent hearing of the Centre’s plea.

The Centre and Delhi government had moved the top court on Wednesday evening hours after the Delhi high court rejected their plea against the January 31, 2020, trial court order staying the execution of death sentence till further orders. ASG Natraj had appeared for the Centre.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Thursday sought the response from the four death row convicts — Pawan Kumar Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar (31) and Mukesh (32) — on an application by Tihar jail authorities seeking issuance of fresh death warrants against them. The notice seeking response from the four death row convicts was issued by additional sessions judge Dharmendra Rana.

Having rejected the Centre and Delhi government’s plea against the trial court’s order, the high court in its judgment on Wednesday had faulted the authorities for not taking necessary steps after the top court had, in May 2017, upheld the death sentence of the four convicts.

Pointing to the brutality of the crime that the four death row convicts had committed in December 2012 and the delaying tactics being used by them to postpone the execution of death sentence, the high court had said, “A horrible, dreadful, cruel, abominable, ghastly, gruesome, and heinous offence of rape coupled with a bonechilling murder of a young woman, which shook the conscience of the entire country.”

“It cannot be disputed that the convicts have frustrated the process by using delaying tactics,” the high court had said on Wednesday.