President Kovind rejects Nirbhaya convict Pawan Gupta's mercy plea
President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday rejected the mercy petition of a convict in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case. The convict, Pawan Gupta (25), had filed the mercy plea on Monday, a day ahead of his scheduled execution. Notably, the mercy plea caused the execution of the four convicts in the case to be deferred yet again. Here are more details.
Delhi government had recommended rejecting Pawan's mercy plea
The Union Home Ministry had received Pawan's mercy plea on Monday and forwarded it to the President for consideration and decision. Pawan had appealed for mercy after the Supreme Court rejected his curative petition earlier on Monday. Shortly after the convict appealed for mercy, the Delhi government had recommended rejecting it while forwarding it to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
Delhi court granted stay on execution over Pawan's mercy plea
Pawan was the last convict to have filed curative and mercy petitions. The pleas filed by the other three convicts—Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31)—have previously been rejected. Pawan had also moved a Delhi court, seeking a stay on their execution, citing the pendency of his mercy plea. The court then reluctantly stayed the execution until further orders.
Convicts' execution has been deferred twice before
The convicts were supposed to be hanged at 6 am on March 3, per a February 17 order. However, due to Pawan's mercy plea, the hanging was deferred. Previously, the execution had been postponed twice. They were originally scheduled to be executed on January 22, which was first deferred to February 1. Thereafter, a January 31 order stayed it indefinitely.
Will seek new execution date now: Nirbhaya's parents' lawyer
The rape victim's parents' lawyer, Seema Khushwaha, told ANI that they will move a fresh application seeking an execution date for the convicts. She said, "All the convicts have exhausted their complete rights. The date which will be fixed now will be the final date."
What is the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case?
The four convicts, and two others, raped a 23-year-old student (dubbed "Nirbhaya") on a moving bus on December 16, 2012. The convicts penetrated her with iron rods, inflicting grave injuries, and the victim died two weeks later during treatment. The fifth accused, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in prison in 2013. The sixth accused—a juvenile—was sent to a reformation home and was later released.
