Nirbhaya case: SC dismisses petition filed by convict Mukesh against rejection of mercy petition by President

Nirbhaya case: SC dismisses petition filed by convict Mukesh against rejection of mercy petition by President

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the petition filed by 2012 Delhi gangrape convict Mukesh against the rejection of mercy petition by the President.

The three-judge bench of Justice R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan pronounced the judgment, saying alleged torture can't be a ground, all documents were placed before the President and he had taken them into consideration. Hoping to seek a stay on the death penalty, the lawyer representing Mukesh in the Nirbhaya rape case stated yesterday in the hearing that medical records owing to "torture in jail" was not shown to the President.

The lawyer stated that the convicts had been physically and sexually abused in the Tihar jail, however medical records showcasing that was not sent to the President for consideration. She also alleged that he had been "illegally" kept in solitary confinement which violates the apex court judgments.

Four convicts are scheduled to be executed on February 1 at 6 am, according to the death warrants issued by a Delhi court.

The President had rejected the mercy petition of Mukesh on January 17 and the death warrants were issued the same day.

A 23-year-old psychotherapy student, dubbed by media as 'Nirbhaya', was gang-raped and brutalised on a moving bus on December 16, 2012, before being dumped on the road. She was airlifted to Singapore where she died on December 29, 2012.

Six people, including a juvenile, were arrested for the crime. The juvenile was released after serving a three-year term at a juvenile home, one convict allegedly committed suicide in jail while four others - Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) - are set to be hanged on January 22.

Earlier, death warrants for all four convicts were issued by a judge on January 7, ordering their execution on January 22 at 7 am, but after Mukesh's mercy plea to the President, the execution was postponed to February 1.

Mukesh Singh moved the Supreme Court filed mercy plea and then again moved the High Court against the death warrant, delaying the execution.