Delhi govt recommends rejection of Nirbhaya convict's mercy plea

Execution of Nirbhaya convicts will not happen on Jan 22 as mercy plea filed: Delhi govt to HC

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Wednesday recommended rejecting the mercy plea filed by Mukesh Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, and forwarded it to the LG at "lightning speed", Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.

He said the recommendation on the mercy petition of 32-year-old Singh will now be sent to the Union Home Ministry. The decision comes a day after Singh filed the plea.

"We learnt that a petition has been filed and we have recommended its rejection and sent it at lighting speed to the LG. There will be no delay from our side, we can assure you that," he said in response to a question.

Convicts cannot be executed on January 22: Delhi govt  

The execution of death row of convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case will not take place on January 22 as a mercy plea has been filed by one of them, the Delhi government on Wednesday told the high court.

The Delhi HC however, refused to set aside death warrant.

A division bench of the court presided by Justices Manmohan and Sangita Dhingra Saihgal asked counsel of the petitioner Mukesh to approach the trial court and apprise the trial court about the new developments that have taken place recently after the January 7 order.

"Apprise the trial court about the mercy plea pending," the bench said.

Advocates Rebecca John and Vrinda Grover appearing for Mukesh showed their agreement to the observation and said that they are approaching the Patiala House Court very soon.

The court observed that trial court while passing the order on January 7 observed that there was no curative or mercy petition pending in any forum.

The four convicts -- Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail. A Delhi court had issued their death warrants on January 7.

Justices Manmohan and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal were told by the Delhi government and the Centre that the petition filed by convict Mukesh, challenging his death warrant, was premature.

The Delhi government and the prison authorities informed the court that under the rules, it will have to wait for the mercy plea to be decided before executing the death warrant.

They also said that none of the four convicts can be executed on January 22 unless the present mercy plea is decided.

The Supreme Court had on Tuesday dismissed the curative pleas of Mukesh and Vinay. Following this, Mukesh filed a mercy petition with President Ram Nath Kovind.

(With inputs from PTI and IANS.)

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