Nirbhaya Case: Convicts' Lawyer Bragged 'They Will Never Be Hanged', Claims Asha Devi

Asha Devi, mother of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder victim Nirbhaya, on Thursday expressed her disappointment after the Patiala House Court postponed the execution of convicts as they are yet to exhaust all their legal options to challenge their death sentence. With tears rolling down her face, Asha Devi also alleged that the lawyer of convicts challenged her that he will ensure their hanging is postponed for indefinite time.

"The lawyer of the convicts, AP Singh has challenged me saying that the convicts will never be executed. I will continue my fight. The government will have to execute the convicts," she told reporters outside the court.

A Delhi court on Friday postponed execution of death warrants of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case till further order. Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana passed the order on plea by the convicts seeking a stay on their execution on February 1.

Also Read | Know Why Nirbhaya Case Convicts Couldn't Be Hanged On February 1

Why The Hanging Is Being Delayed

The four convicts of 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case – Mukesh, Akshay, Pawan and Vinay – are unlikely to be hanged on February 1 as three of them are yet to exhaust their all options to challenge their death sentence. While Mukesh has exhausted all his options, Vinay has filled his mercy plea before and a decision on that is still pending.

Even if the President rejects his mercy plea, which very likely to happen given the nature of his crime, he still can’t be hanged for 14 days. A convict facing death sentence gets 14 days to meet family and for judicial review after the rejection of mercy plea by the President.

The other convict Akshay, whose curative plea was rejected on Thursday, still have mercy plea option. Akshay had filed his curative plea before the Supreme Court on Wednesday and the top court rejected his plea yesterday. In his petition, the death row convict had said that capital punishment is being awarded in courts as panacea for public pressure and public opinion on violence against women.

Fourth convict Pawan still has both mercy plea and curative plea options. Pawan is yet to file a curative plea against the capital punishment. Until all the convicts exhaust all their legal recourses, they can’t be hanged unless they decide against challenging the death sentence.