'Failure Of Our System, World Is Watching This': Nirbhaya’s Mother Asha Devi After Hanging Deferred Again

Anguished over the further delay in the hanging of four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, her mother Asha Devi on Monday said repeated postponing of the execution shows the “failure of our system”. “Why is the court taking so much time to execute its own order to hang the convicts? Repeated postponing of the execution shows the failure of our system. Our entire system supports criminals. The world is watching what the court, which is known for fair trial, is doing with the case,” said Asha Devi in her first reaction after the court order.

A Delhi court Monday deferred till further order the hanging of four death row convicts in the 2012 gang-rape and murder convict. Hanging of the four convicts was scheduled for Tuesday at 6 AM.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana said the death sentence cannot be executed pending disposal of mercy petition of convict Pawan Kumar Gupta. The court passed the order on Pawan's plea seeking to stay the execution as he has filed a mercy petition before the President on Monday.

Also Read | Nirbhaya Case: Convicts Not To Be Hanged Tomorrow As Delhi Court Stays Execution Until Further Order

"This shows the failure of our system. The whole world is watching how justice is being delayed in India," she told reporters. It is the third time that the hanging of the four convicts has been deferred.

Asha Devi said she "loses hope every day" but the convicts will be hanged no matter what they do.

"I lose hope every day but I stand tall every day. They would have to be hanged. There could not have been a worse case than Nirbhaya but still I am struggling to get justice. The courts are sitting and watching the drama," she added.

The first date of execution, January 22, was postponed to February 1 by a January 17 court order. Then the trial court, on January 31, stayed, "till further orders" the execution of the four convicts as they had not exhausted all their legal remedies.

The court had on February 17 directed that the four men be hanged by neck on March 3 at 6 am until they are dead. This was for the third time that the death warrants were issued by the court against them. "Now deferring it any further would be sacrilegious to the rights of the victim for expeditious justice," it had said. 

(With PTI inputs)