Have done all we can for Nimisha Priya: Centre tells Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it has done all it can for Nimisha Priya, the Kerala nurse who is on the death row in Yemen.

“There’s a point till which the Government of India can go. We have reached that point,” Attorney General R Venkataramani told the Supreme Court on Monday, as it heard a plea seeking to stall the execution of the Keralite nurse, scheduled for July 16. The matter came up before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.

Appearing for the petitioner 'Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council', Senior Advocate Raghenth Basant informed the court that the nurse’s family is negotiating with the victim’s relatives to pay ‘blood money’ under Shariat law, which could help secure a pardon. He clarified that no financial help is being sought from the Centre, only diplomatic support to facilitate talks.

The Attorney General, however, pointed to India’s complex diplomatic relationship with Yemen, where it has no embassy. He noted that had Priya been held in the internationally recognised capital Aden, instead of the Houthi-controlled Sanaa, the situation might have been different.

Despite these constraints, the Centre was making every possible effort behind the scenes, the AG said, including engaging influential local leaders and writing to Yemen’s Public Prosecutor seeking a suspension of the execution. “We didn’t want to complicate the situation by going too public… some private channels are being explored,” he said.

Justice Sandeep Mehta called it a “sensitive” and “sad” case. “The real concern is the way the incident happened… and if she still loses her life, it’s tragic,” he observed.

The AG agreed that it was a deeply unfortunate situation but said India cannot act beyond its diplomatic and legal limits. He also noted a possible deadlock in talks between Priya’s family and the victim’s kin.

When Basant urged the Court to prevent the execution, the bench questioned its jurisdiction in matters involving a foreign nation. “How can that order be passed? Who is going to respect that order?” asked Justice Mehta.

The petitioner replied that if the Union could establish a line of communication with the victim’s family, the financial aspect of the blood money would not be a hurdle. The bench adjourned the matter to Friday, directing the Centre to provide an update on any new developments.

Nimisha Priya, a 36-year-old nurse from Kerala, was sentenced to death in 2018 for the murder of her Yemeni business associate Talal Abdo Mahdi. According to her family, Talal forged documents to claim she was his wife, confiscated her passport, and subjected her to repeated abuse. In 2017, she allegedly injected him with ketamine to recover her documents, but an overdose proved fatal.

Priya was retried and sentenced again in 2020. Her appeal was rejected by Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council in 2023, and her death sentence was upheld by the Yemeni President last year.

The 'Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council' was formed to campaign for her release, and recently approached the Supreme Court seeking directions for the Centre to act through diplomatic channels. Under Shariat law, capital punishment can be averted if the victim’s family accepts ‘blood money’ as compensation.

Reportedly, Priya’s family has offered $1 million (₹8.6 crore) to Talal’s family. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention, calling Priya’s case one deserving of sympathy. He had earlier also written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.