Nirbhaya: Petitions pile up as hanging nears

New Delhi: As the Nirbhaya convicts' execution of March 20 nears, uncertainty over whether the hanging will happen or not looms large as multiple court developments point to a possible stay on the execution of the four convicts in the horrific December 16 Delhi rape case.

For starters, the Delhi High Court has reserved the order on a plea filed by Mukesh Singh, arguing that he was not present in Delhi when the crime was committed; in addition to which one other convict Pawan Gupta on Wednesday filed his curative petition in the Supreme Court, against the top court's dismissal of the review petition where he argued that he was a minor at the time of the crime.

While frustration and anger over the continued delays in the execution has flared up many in the nation, advocate AP Singh on Wednesday has filed a fresh petition in a Delhi court, asking for a stay on the execution as some of the convicts still had legal remedies to avail, on which the court has issued a notice and scheduled a hearing on Thursday. Moreover, Akshay's wife has filed for divorce, which is also expected to be taken up for hearing by a district court in Aurangabad

today.

In his petition before Additional Sessions judge Dharmender Rana, Singh argues that Akshay had also moved a second mercy petition before the President of India. He also argues that the convicts' petition for a stay on the execution is also pending before the International Court of Justice.

And in a last-ditch effort, Singh also mentions various petitions filed on behalf of Pawan in the Delhi High Court such as the one against the Election Commission of India, to argue that the convicts are yet to exhaust their legal remedies.

As of now, there are five court matters, of which even if one is left unsettled by March 20, the hanging is likely to be postponed. The first is convict Mukesh's plea in the Delhi High Court arguing that he was not in Delhi at the time of the crime. The second is convict Pawan Gupta's curative petition in the Apex Court. The third is convict Akshay's second mercy petition before the President.

The fourth is convict Akshay's divorce matter, which will be heard from March 19, when the court in Aurangabad is likely to issue notice to him most likely delaying the March 20 hanging. The fifth is a petition filed by advocate AP Singh in a Delhi court, seeking a stay citing that all the aforementioned legal remedies remain pending.