With never-ending court hearings, the 2012 Delhi gang rape Nirbhaya case have heard it all over again for the nth time. The four convicts’ appeals have been rejected many times. However, the supreme court recognized the heinous, inhuman nature of the crime and upheld the decision to hang the convicts. Now, on the death row, people have been waiting for the day for so long as there were a couple of legal options left.
Now, the latest information is that the death penalty to the four convicts in the case will soon be carried out if not challenged before the President within seven days, Tihar jail authorities said. Three of the four convicts are lodged in Tihar jail while the fourth convict is in Mandoli’s jail. “The Delhi High Court, as well as Supreme Court, have upheld the death sentence slapped by the trial court,” Sandeep Goel, Director-General said.
It is surprising that none of the convicts went to seek for a review though they could have filed a petition challenging the death penalty and also a review petition. In spite of having the option of praying for mercy from the President seeking commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment, the four convicts did not take the step to seek a commutation of capital punishment into any other sentence.
On October 28, Tihar Jail and Mandoli jail authorities handed over notices to the convicts and informed them that they can file a mercy plea before the President within seven days. If a mercy plea is not filed, the jail administration will inform the trial court, following which a death warrant will be issued to the convicts. The death warrant will authorize the execution of the convicts.
As we know, there were six convicts and one of the accused Ram Singh had hanged himself in the jail and another, the juvenile, was convicted of rape and murder and given the maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment. The convicts who received the death penalty are Vinay Sharma, Mukesh, Akshay Kumar Singh and Pawan Gupta.
