Nirbhaya Convicts Hanged: Pleas, Petitions And Pre-dawn Hearings- What Happened In Final 19 Hours

The four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case made every effort and attempt to escape the gallows or at least delay the hanging. Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Singh -- had left no stone unturned to delay their execution and kept approaching different courts and forums almost on a daily basis in the last two-and-a half months. The convicts did not budge and even filed pleas in courts on a day prior to their hanging but failed to get any relief. In the final hours efore the execution, courts ruled on half a dozen petitions filed by the convicts.

Here's what happened in the 19 hours leading to the hanging of Nirbhaya convicts:

19 March

11.07 AM: Supreme Court dismisses curative petition of Pawan Gupta against the dismissal of his review plea rejecting his juvenility claim. Pawan Gupta had claimed that he was a minor at the time of offence and thereby his death sentence be commuted to life imprisonment

2.48 PM: Supreme Court refuses to entertain the plea of Mukesh Singh challenging a Delhi High Court order which rejected his claim that he was not in the city when at the time of crime on December 16, 2012.

3.37 PM: The Delhi's Patiala House court rejects petition of the convicts seeking stay on the execution. The convicts had requested that their execution be stopped, claiming that they still had legal remedies left.

3.51 PM: Supreme Court dismisses Akshay's plea challenging rejection of second mercy petition.

20 March

12.05 AM: Delhi High Court dismisses last minute plea by convicts seeking stay on execution of death warrants.

3.31 AM: In a pre-dawn hearing, Supreme Court brings down curtain on the case by rejecting plea of Pawan Gupta against rejection of second mercy plea.

5:30 AM: The four convicts hanged till death in Tihar jail.