Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case convicts, who were supposed to be executed earlier on January 22 and then on February 1, will not be hanged as a Delhi court approved the plea filed by rapists in the Nirbhaya case convicts, seeking a stay on their execution.
The executions of the four convicts -- Pawan Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma, Akshay Kumar and Mukesh Singh -- have been postponed till further orders. The execution was scheduled for Saturday at 6 am.
The verdict was delivered by Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana at New Delhi's Patiala court. Advocate AP Singh who is representing the convicts has urged the court to adjourn the executions "sine die" (with no appointed date for resumption) as Vinay Kumar Sharma's mercy plea before President Ram Nath Kovind is pending.
Convicts to get 14 days' notice before execution
"Also, it can only take place 14 days after the mercy plea's rejection. The prison rules say a 14-day notice must be provided to the convicts after the rejection of the mercy plea," said Delhi's standing counsel Rahul Mehra.
Nirbhaya gangrape case
The 23-year-old woman was brutally gangraped and tortured on December 16, 2012, which later led to her death. All the six accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused was a minor and appeared before a juvenile justice court, while another accused committed suicide in Tihar Jail.
