Nimisha Priya case: Action Council seeks Centre’s nod to send team to Yemen

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday informed the Supreme Court that the execution of Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse on death row in Yemen, has been stayed, and that diplomatic efforts are underway to ensure her safe return.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was told that the execution, initially scheduled for July 16, has been postponed. The government is trying “everything possible,” said Attorney General R Venkataramani, adding that the situation remains "very difficult" and sensitive.

The court was hearing a plea filed by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, which is supporting Priya’s legal defence. According to PTI, the organisation’s counsel urged the Centre to allow a delegation, including two or three representatives and a religious scholar from Kerala, to travel to Yemen and initiate talks with the victim’s family for forgiveness, a precondition for seeking a pardon under Sharia law.

The counsel clarified that discussions on "blood money", compensation that can be paid to the victim’s family, could follow only after forgiveness is granted.

The bench allowed the petitioners to make a formal representation to the government but stopped short of issuing any directive. "Whatever request they want to make to the government, they may make. The government will consider it," the court said, choosing not to specify any demands in its order.

Venkataramani said the government preferred not to put sensitive details on record at this stage, fearing they could be counterproductive. "We only want that this woman comes out safely," he told the court, while objecting to media reports quoting his exchanges in court.

The petitioner's counsel confirmed that Priya's mother is already in Yemen, negotiating with the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, the man Priya was convicted of killing in 2017. She received permission to travel following directions from the Delhi High Court.

Asked whether the stay on execution was indefinite, the petitioner’s lawyer said no fresh execution date had been set so far. “Which means something is working,” Venkataramani noted.

The Supreme Court posted the next hearing in the matter to August 14.

Nimisha Priya, 38, a nurse from Palakkad, Kerala, was convicted in Yemen for the 2017 murder of her Yemeni business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi. She allegedly drugged and killed Mahdi, and was sentenced to death in 2020. Her final appeal was rejected in 2023, and she is currently imprisoned in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital.

Under Sharia law, a murder convict can be pardoned if the victim’s family agrees to forgive and accept blood money as compensation. On July 17, the Ministry of External Affairs said India was in touch with Yemeni authorities and friendly nations to reach a “mutually agreeable solution.” Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal added that efforts were on to secure more time for Priya’s family to negotiate with the victim’s kin.