Nirbhaya Case: SC defers hearing on Centre’s plea for separate execution

The Supreme
Court deferred the hearing on Centre’s plea seeking separate execution of four
convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case to Friday and asked the
convicts to file their counter replies by then.

A bench of
Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna appointed senior advocate
Anjana Prakash as amicus curiae on Thursday to represent the convict Pawan
Kumar Gupta.

The bench
said it is deferring the hearing till 2:00 pm Friday in wake of a trial court
order on Wednesday, which directed the District Legal Services Authority to
provide Gupta’s father with a list of its empanelled advocates to choose from
to represent the convict.

Gupta is the
only convict who has not yet filed a curative petition the last legal remedy
available to a person which is decided in-chamber. He also has the option of
filing a mercy plea against the death sentence.