Nirbhaya Case: AAP's Sanjay Singh demands President or SC step in, expedite execution

Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday submitted a Zero Hour Notice in the house over 'demand to expedite (speed up) the death sentence of 2012 Delhi gang-rape convicts.' Adding further the AAP MP also demanded the President and Supreme Court's intervention for speedy execution of the death sentence.

READ | Nirbhaya case convicts claim in HC they cannot be executed separately

The Nirbhaya case is about the gang-rape and brutal murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people, including a juvenile. Nirbhaya had later died in a Singapore hospital where she had been shifted for critical treatment. Out of the five adult rapists, Ram Singh had allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail during the trial proceedings of the case. 

READ | Deliberate, calculated design to frustrate mandate of law by Nirbhaya convicts: SG to HC

Delay in execution

Earlier on February 2, Tihar Jail authorities approached the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court's order delaying the rapists' execution. MHA, along with Tihar jail, mentioned that the convicts by filing their review, curative and mercy petitions one after the other are unnecessarily delaying the execution process.

This development comes amidst the Supreme Court agreeing to hear the Centre's plea seeking ‘victim and society centric’ guidelines to prevent delay in the execution of convicts. The Centre has appealed to the apex court to set guidelines as the process is often misused by the convict to prolong the day of execution. The previous date of execution in the Nirbhaya rape case was on February 1. Meanwhile, Akshay Thakur, one of the convicts, has filed a mercy petition on Saturday. 

Earlier on Friday, the Patiala House Court deferred the execution of all the 4 convicts in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case until further orders. This development comes a few hours after the Supreme Court dismissed the review plea of Pawan Kumar Gupta, a convict in the Nirbhaya case, against the apex court's verdict on whether he was a juvenile at the time of committing the crime. On Thursday, the curative plea of another Nirbhaya convict Akshay was dismissed by the apex court. 

READ | Nirbhaya's mother 'hopeful' of justice after Delhi HC issues notice to Tihar and convicts

READ | Nirbhaya's mother on the case: 'This is not just a challenge for me but entire system'