Nirbhaya convict Vinay Sharma files mercy petition before President
New Delhi, Jan 29: Hours after the Supreme Court dismissed Nirbhaya case convict Mukesh Kumar Singh's petition challenging the rejection of his mercy plea, another person found guilty of the heinous crime has filed a mercy petition before President Ram Nath Kovind.
"Vinay Sharma has filed a mercy petition before the President of India," his lawyer AP Singh confirmed today.
The 26-year-old Vinay was supposed to be executed along with three others -- Mukesh Singh, Akshay Singh and Pawan Gupta -- on Saturday. However, with Akshay Singh challenging the decision in the Supreme Court, the date is now expected to be further delayed.
Nirbhaya convict Akshay Singh's petition to be heard by SC tomorrow
The trial court has issued black warrants for their execution on February 1, three days away, but it is unlikely it will be carried through.
According to apex court guidelines, convicts cannot be hanged until 14 days after their mercy plea has been rejected.
Moreover, Delhi Prison Rules, 2018, stipulate that all prisoners convicted in the same case have to be executed together.
The 23-year-old woman, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya', the fearless one, was gangraped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in south Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.