Tihar Jail's request for fresh warrants to hang the four convicts has been rejected
Highlights
- Supreme Court will hear request for separate hanging
- Government had challenged the Delhi High Court verdict
- Government wanted notices to be sent to the four convicts
A request by the Tihar Jail authorities seeking fresh warrants to hang all the four convicts were rejected by a court in Delhi today.
The Delhi High Court on February 5 allowed the convicts a week to look exercise any legal option left with them.
"I concur with the argument of advocate Vrinda Grover and dismiss the application of Tihar Jail as bereft of merit," the judge at Delhi's Patiala House court said today.
The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday the central and the Delhi government's request for separate hanging of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case. The government had challenged the Delhi High Court verdict dismissing its plea against the stay on the execution of the four men.
The government had wanted notices to be sent to the four convicts. A bench headed by Justice R Bhanumathi did not heed to the government's request, saying it would further delay the matter.
"The nation's patience has been tested enough, the Supreme Court will have to lay down law on this, the government's lawyer Tushar Mehta said.
Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta, Mukesh Singh and Akshay Singh - convicted for the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student, who came to be known as "Nirbhaya" in Delhi in 2012 - were to be executed on February 1 at Tihar Jail.