Nirbhaya Case: A three-judge bench heard the review petition.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court today dismissed a review petition filed by one of the four convicts awaiting death penalty in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder. Akshay Singh, one of the five men convicted for the rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi in 2012, had sought review of his death penalty. He has filed a petition saying life in Delhi is being shortened anyway due to the rising air and water pollution.
On Tuesday, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde had opted out of hearing a petition in the case, saying one of the advocates who represented the woman's mother is a family member.
Here are live updates on the court hearing
"Running from pillar to post," Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi said today as the Delhi court pronounced judgement on her petition
No death warrant today , says Delhi's Patiala court on petition by Nirbhaya's parents
Delhi Commission For Women chief Swati Maliwal on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court''s decision to dismiss the plea filed by one of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case.
She wrote: "After 7 years, the time is nearing for justice to be done with Nirbhaya. The review petition of the rapist has been rejected from the Supreme Court. Hope now Patiala House Court will immediately issue the death warrant of all the four killers! Those four murderers should be hanged immediately!"
A three-judge bench headed by Justice R Banumathi said there are no grounds to review the verdict and the contentions raised by convict Akshay Kumar Singh were already considered by the top court in the main judgement.
A Delhi court will hear a petition by Nirbhaya's parents on expediting the hanging of all the four convicts in the case. All convicts will be produced through video conferencing before the court, news agency ANI reported.
"We have gone a step further," says Nirbhaya's mother on top court dismissing fourth convict review petition against death penalty
Supreme Court confirms death penalty for Nirbhaya case convict Akshay Kumar Singh
Supreme Court verdict on convict's review petition against death penalty at 1 pm
Akshay Kumar Singh's lawyer also pointed to a recent book by a former jailer of the Tihar Jail, where the convicts are lodged. "We can't go by views of any author. We can't go into all this now. This will set a dangerous trend if people start writing books after the trial is over and talk about such things. There will be no end if we start entertaining all these arguments now. He should have offered himself at the time of trial. What can be the purpose of writing all this now? How can we reply on it," said the court.
Convict's lawyer raises doubts on Nirbhaya's dying declaration.
There was media and public pressure to implicate Akshay Singh, the convict's lawyer AP Singh argued as his petition for review of his death sentence was heard by three judges.
"The air quality and water quality in Delhi-NCR is toxic and poisonous. Life span of an average person is reducing. Why impose death penalty in such a situation?": Akshay Kumar Singh's lawyer
"We have filed a case against Nirbhaya's friend in Patiala House Court, which will be heard by the court on December 20," said Akshay Kumar Singh's lawyer.
As the top court asked the lawyer on the relevance of petition, the lawyer said that this is new evidence.
"There has been inefficiency to catch the real perpetrators. Lack of professional conduct and inefficiency by investigation has led to this": Akshay Kumar Singh's lawyer
Akshay Singh's lawyer rgues that the demand for a CBI inquiry was raised in this case but there was no CBI inquiry. "But there was a CBI inquiry in the Gurugram school case and the bus conductor was given a clean chit by the CBI," he said, referring to the 2017 murder case.
The 23-year-old paramedic student was tortured and gangraped on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in south Delhi. She and her male friend, who was also beaten up, were thrown out of the bus naked and bleeding.
The court had dismissed the review petitions filed by the other three convicts-- Mukesh, 30, Pawan Gupta, 23, and Vinay Sharma, 24, -- in the case in July last year.