Nirbhaya case: SC to hear convict’s petition today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear a plea by Mukesh – a death row convict in Nirbhaya case – challenging the rejection of his mercy petition by the President Ram Nath Kovind.

Mukesh has contended that the rejection of mercy petition was done in an “undue haste”. Mukesh had filed the mercy petition on January 14, 2020, after top court rejected the curative petition by him and Vinay Sharma on the same day. The mercy petition by Mukesh was rejected by the President on January 17.

A bench comprising Justice R. Banumathi, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A.S.Bopanna will hear Mukesh’s plea against the rejection of mercy petition on the grounds of  undue haste and alleged none adherence to the procedure.

The petition by Mukesh challenging the rejection of mercy petition will be heard by the three-judge bench at 12.30 pm.

Earlier in the morning a lawyer made an oral mentioning of the petition and urged the Chief Justice S.A. Bobde to hold an urgent hearing of the petition either on Tuesday (Jan. 28) or Wednesday (Jan. 29).

CJI Bobde said: “Somebody is going to be executed, it has to be priority number one.”

As per the order of a Delhi Court, all the four death-row convicts — Vinay Sharma, Mukesh, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Kumar Singh — are likely to be hanged on February 3, at 6 am in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

Earlier a five-judge bench comprising Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice Arun Mishra, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Ashok Bhushan had on January 14, 2020, rejected the curative petition both by Mukesh and Vinay Sharma.

Rejecting the curative petition by Mukesh and Vinay Sharma, the five-judge bench had in its order said: “In our opinion, no case is made out within the parameters indicated in the decision of this Court in Rupa Ashok Hurra (case) .... Hence, the Curative Petitions are dismissed.”

The review petition of Mukesh, and Vinay Sharma were rejected on July 9, 2018.

A bench comprising then Justice Dipak Misra, (who later became CJI and has since retired) Justice R. Banumathi and Justice Ashok Bhushan had on May 5, 2017, upheld the death sentence of the four convicts.

A Delhi court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by the father of one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya case, challenging the court’s order rejecting his complaint questioning the credibility of the sole witness in the case. Judge A.K. Jain dismissed the appeal filed by Heera Lal Gupta, father of Pawan Kumar Gupta, saying he appears to be “desperate and mala fide”. The court however took into account that his son is one step away from the gallows and did not impose any cost on him.