Centre against stay of execution in Nirbhaya case: Delhi HC commences hearing

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Sunday commenced hearing on Centre's plea challenging stay on the execution of four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case. The proceedings are currently underway before Justice Suresh Kait.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta is advancing arguments for the Centre. "In the Interest of the society and victim, there should be no delay. Even in the case of the convicts, the Supreme Court says that there should be no delay as it would have dehumanising effect on the convict," Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told Justice Suresh Kumar Kait during a special court proceeding on the weekend.

The Solicitor General also presented a chart before the court explaining the legal remedies availed by the four death row convicts till now.


The court was hearing a petition filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) challenging the stay imposed by a trial court on the execution of four death-row convicts.

The court yesterday heard the petition filed by the Central government and Tihar Jail authorities challenging the trial court's order which had stayed the execution of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case.

"The four convicts by filing their respective review petition or curative petition or mercy petitions, one after the other and that too at such a belated stage, that is after the issuance of the death warrants, are in fact being permitted to play with the majesty of law leading to unnecessarily prolonging the execution and thereby taking the judicial process for a ride," the plea said.

It said that the convicts have deliberately chosen to file their review, curative and mercy petitions beyond the statutory period available to them with the sole objective to delay the execution of the death warrant.

A Delhi court had on Friday stayed till further orders the execution of the four convicts -- Akshay Thakur, Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, and Vinay Sharma -- which was earlier scheduled to take place on February 1.

The case pertains to the gang-rape and brutal murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people, including a juvenile, in Delhi. The woman had died at a Singapore hospital a few days later.

One of the five adults accused, Ram Singh, had allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail during the trial of the case.

(Inputs from PTI & ANI)