Nirbhaya case: SC to hear Centre’s plea for separate hanging on Feb 11

The Supreme
Court on Friday posted for hearing the Central government’s appeal seeking
separate hanging of the convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape-and-murder case for
2:00pm on February 11.

The Centre
had appealed in the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court’s order that
dismissed its plea against the stay on execution of the four convicts in the
Nirbhaya case. The Centre has also been seeking the permission to execute the
four convicts separately.

The Centre’s
appeal was heard by a three-justice bench of the Supreme Court comprising
Justices R. Bhanumathi, Ashok Bhushan and A.S. Bopanna. The Delhi High Court
had on Wednesday set a week’s deadline for the convicts in the Nirbhaya case to
avail the remaining remedies.

The Centre
had moved the Delhi High Court after a trial court had on January 31 stayed
“till further orders” execution of the four convicts in the case.

Of the four
convicts, three, Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar
(31) have exhausted all their legal options, including mercy pleas to the
president. Only one convict, Pawan Gupta (25), has the option of filing a
curative plea and mercy plea to the president.