Nirbhaya death-row convict Pawan Gupta files SLP, SC to hear petition on January 20

The Supreme Court on January 20 will hear a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by one of the death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya rape case after he claimed that he was a juvenile at the time of the rape case back in 2012. A three-judge bench comprising of Justices Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna and headed by Justice R Banumathi will hear the petition filed. 

The convict, Pawan Gupta on Friday filed the petition before the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court's decision to dismiss his plea. Gupta's lawyer AP Singh while speaking to ANI said that the fact that Pawan Gupta was juvenile at the time of the crime was ignored by the Delhi High Court during the proceeding. Furthermore, he contended that Pawan's date of birth as per his school record is October 8, 1996, but the Delhi High Court has ignored this fact. 

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Patiala House Court issues a new death warrant

Delhi's Patiala House on Friday issued a new death warrant for the execution of the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case. The four rapists will be hanged till death on February 1 at 6 AM. Previously, the Court had given an order for January 22 at 7 AM. In a reprieve to Nirbhaya's parents, President Ram Nath Kovind, on Friday, rejected convict Mukesh Singh's mercy plea.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had forwarded his mercy petition to the President, recommending its rejection. On Wednesday, the Tihar jail officials successfully conducted a dummy execution in Jail number 3 where the convicts will be hanged to death. The convicts are set to be hanged together in the same place where Afzal Guru, the convict for the 2001 Parliament attack was executed in 2013. 

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What is the Nirbhaya Case?

A 23-year-old paramedic student was gang-raped inside a running bus by six persons on December 16, 2012, in Delhi. The victim was severely assaulted and thrown out on the road along with her male friend and she succumbed to injuries a few days later. Out of the six convicts, one committed suicide in prison, while another, a juvenile, served maximum punishment of three years in a reform home and was set free in 2015. The remaining four rapists were convicted and handed the death penalty by a trial court in 2013, confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014. The Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court's verdict in 2017. 

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(With ANI Inputs)