[Nirbhaya] Despite stiff resistance, death row convicts cannot meet Creator without opportunity to exhaust all legal remedies: Delhi Court

With the intervention of the an Additional Sessions Court today, orders to execute the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya rape case were postponed for a third time.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana today was unequivocal in his displeasure over the delay evident in pursuing the legal remedies available to the convicts within the time line given earlier by the Delhi High Court on February 5.

"You are playing with fire", the judge remarked, while pulling up the defence counsel, AP Singh.

All the same, the Court proceeded to defer the execution in view of the fact that a "complete" mercy plea preferred by Pawan Kumar was pending the consideration of the President. As recorded in the order,

The Court made the call after appreciating the irreversible nature of the death penalty and the importance of the constitutional legal remedy of mercy plea.

As a result, the Court has now pushed the execution of the death warranting until the disposal of the mercy plea.

As per the last death warrant issued on February 17, the four convicts ie. Akshay, Pawan, Mukesh and Vinay will be hanged on March 3 at 6 am. Prior to this, it was scheduled that they be executed on February 1, as per a warrant issued on January 17.

The first death warrant against the four convicts was issued on January 7 and the convicts were to be hanged on January 22 at 7 pm.

[Read the Order]