Nimisha Priya’s execution stayed; new mediator steps in, says Centre

New Delhi: The Supreme Court was on Thursday informed that the execution of  Malayali nurse Nimisha Priya, who is on death row in Yemen for murder, has been stayed and that “nothing adverse is happening” at present. Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that a new mediator has stepped into the matter.

“What has happened to the execution?” the bench asked. The counsel for the petitioner organisation, Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, which is providing legal support to Priya, said the execution has been stayed as of now. “There is a new mediator who has stepped into the picture,” Venkataramani said, adding, “The only good thing is, nothing adverse is happening.”

The petitioner’s counsel requested that the matter be adjourned. "List in January 2026. It will be open for the parties to apply for early listing in case the situation so demands,” the bench said. The top court was hearing a plea seeking directions to the Centre to use diplomatic channels to save the 38-year-old nurse, who was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner in 2017. On August 14, the apex court had been informed that there was “no immediate threat” to Priya.

Earlier, the court was told that Priya’s execution, which had been scheduled for July 16, had been stayed. On July 18, the Centre had informed the bench that efforts were on and that the government was trying “everything possible” to ensure her safe release.

The petitioner’s counsel had also said that Priya’s mother was in Yemen to negotiate with the deceased’s family, after the Delhi High Court allowed her to travel.

Priya, a native of Palakkad in Kerala, was convicted in 2017, sentenced to death in 2020, and had her final appeal rejected in 2023. She is currently lodged in a jail in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. The petitioner’s counsel had earlier told the top court that payment of “blood money” to the victim’s family, permissible under Sharia law, could be explored, adding that the family might pardon Priya if compensation was paid.

On July 17, India had said it was in touch with Yemeni authorities as well as friendly nations as part of efforts to reach a “mutually agreeable solution” in the case.