Nirbhaya convict claims he didn't authorize mercy plea; seeks withdrawal
An accused in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case has sought an immediate withdrawal of a mercy plea in his name. The accused, Vinay Sharma, was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2017. Sharma has now moved a petition before President Ram Nath Kovind to withdraw the mercy plea since he did not authorize it. Here are more details.
Plea urged President to reduce Sharma's death sentence
On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs forwarded a mercy plea for Sharma to President Kovind. The Home Ministry, however, recommended the President to reject the plea for clemency. The plea reportedly urged the President to reduce Sharma's death sentence to life imprisonment. Sharma has now said that he did not sign and authorize the mercy plea in his name.
Nirbhaya's mother, Delhi L-G recommended President to reject plea
Earlier this week, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal sent the file to the Home Ministry, rejecting the mercy plea. The victim's mother separately urged the President to reject the mercy plea. "Almost seven years have elapsed," the letter sent through her lawyer stated, "The trauma, pain, and agony suffered by the applicant is unbearable and the wait for justice is getting longer and longer."
Supreme Court upheld death sentence in 2018
In 2013, a fast-track trial court in Delhi had sentenced Sharma and three other convicts, Mukesh Kumar, Akshay Gupta, and Pawan Singh, to death. In 2014, the Delhi High Court upheld the trial court's verdict and in 2017, the Supreme Court upheld the same. In 2018, the apex court rejected review pleas against its 2017 verdict.
What happened in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case?
On December 16, 2012, six men, including a minor, gang-raped a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in Delhi. The victim was penetrated with iron rods, and suffered such catastrophic injuries, that her intestines had been pulled out. She died during treatment. Ram Singh, a fifth accused, died in jail in 2013, while the juvenile spent time in a reformation home and was released.
