NIRBHAYA RAPE CASE: Four convicts to be hanged today

The Delhi court yesterday dismissed the plea of three of the four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case seeking stay on the execution which is slated for early morning today.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana dismissed the plea of Akshay Kumar, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma seeking stay on the death penalty, saying the second mercy plea of one of them was still pending.

The court was informed by the public prosecutor that second mercy pleas of Akshay and Pawan, were rejected on the ground that the first such plea was entertained and considered on merit.

He told the court that advocate A P Singh, counsel for the convicts, was giving false information stating second mercy plea of Pawan was pending and said that all the convicts have exhausted their legal remedies.

Singh also said that convict Akshay's wife has filed for a divorce in a city court in Bihar which was pending, to which the special public prosecutor said any other petition does not fall under the purview of legal remedy in the present case.

On March 5, a trial court had issued fresh death warrants for March 20 at 5:30 am, as the date for the execution of convicts Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31).

Three previous dates of hanging passed as the convicts filed petition after petition to stall their execution.

On December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old was brutally assaulted and tortured in a moving bus and dumped on the road, by six people including a juvenile. The woman died a few days later.