Nirbhaya convict Akshay Singh's petition to be heard by SC tomorrow

New Delhi, Jan 29: Akshay Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case approached the Supreme Court with a curative petition.

The apex court's five-judge bench, headed by Justice N V Ramana, will tomorrow hear the curative petition of Akshay Thakur, at 1 pm.

The plea will be heard by the judges in their chambers tomorrow and not in an open court. If it is rejected, Akshay Singh will have the option to send a mercy plea to President Ram Nath Kovind.

"I have approached the SC registry with curative petition today. The registry has asked me to file some additional documents along with the petition and I am in the process of completing the formalities," Singh told PTI.

The Supreme Court had rejected Akshay Singh's petition seeking a review of his death sentence after he filed a plea making bizarre claims, citing the Delhi pollution crisis as reasons why the hanging should not be carried out.

It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had last week rejected a plea filed by Gupta claiming that he was a juvenile at the time of the commission of the offence. The court rejected the plea as it did not find any fresh ground in the matter.

Gupta could also file a curative plea and seek mercy before the President. If these convicts decide to exercise all these options, then the hanging could be delayed. In case the hanging does not take place on February 1, then a fresh black warrant will have to be issued by the trial court.

So far, the curative petitions filed by two convicts -- Vinay and Mukesh -- in the case have already been dismissed by the apex court.

Curative petition is the last legal recourse available to a person in a court of law.