The Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 14, dismissed the curative petitions filed by two of the four rapists in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. Convicts Vinay Kumar and Mukesh, who filed the last possible legal appeal against their death sentence, drew a blank at the apex court today.
A five-judge bench headed by Justice N V Ramana dismissed the petition of Vinay Sharma and Mukesh after an in-chamber hearing. Other members of the bench included Arun Mishra, R F Nariman, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan.
"In our opinion, no case is made out within the parameters indicated in the decision of this Court in Rupa Ashok Hurra vs. Ashok Hurra & Another, reported in 2002 (4) SCC 388. Hence, the Curative Petitions are dismissed", said the court order.
The curative petitions were taken up in-chambers, without the presence of the lawyers of the convicts, by the bench headed by Justice Ramana. The in-chambers review is the procedure to consider curative and review petitions.
Justice for Nirbhaya
The five Judge bench also dismissed the plea of the convicts to stay the execution of the death sentence. "The applications for oral hearing are rejected. The applications for stay of execution of the death sentence are also rejected," said the court.
However, all four have previously filed review petitions, which were rejected by the Supreme Court. A curative petition is the last judicial remedy available to a person convicted by courts of law. If curative petitions are rejected, a mercy petition before the president will be the only option left for the convicts, whose execution is just a week away.
