Delhi court has issued fresh death warrants for March 3 at 6 am against the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.
Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana issued fresh warrants against death row convicts — Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31). This is the third time that death warrants have been issued against them. The two earlier ones could not be carried out as the convicts took it in turns to use every legal option available to them.
The first date of execution, January 22, was postponed to February 1 by a January 17 court order. Then the trial court, on January 31, stayed, “till further orders” the execution of the four convicts as they had not exhausted all their legal remedies.
Third death warrant was issued after the Tihar jail authorities informed the trial court that three of the four convicts — Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta, Mukesh Singh and Akshay Singh — have exhausted all legal options and none of them have any correspondence pending at the moment.
That still leaves one convict who has not filed a curative petition or mercy plea to the President. But they have also exhausted the one week allowed by the High Court to exercise all their legal option and will need to go to the top court to get an extension.
“I hope this will be the final date for hanging,” said the mother of the woman, adding that she was “very happy” with the court’s decision.
The woman’s parents, who have been carrying out a spirited fight for justice, had filed an appeal in the trial court for a fresh death warrant after the week allowed by the High Court allowed the convicts to explore all legal means came to an end.
After incessant efforts by the convicts to delay the execution, the High Court had said they would get only a week to explore all “legal remedies” after which the family would be free to seek a fresh death warrant from the trial court.
