Nirbhaya convicts petition to be heard by Supreme Court on Tuesday
New Delhi, Dec 12: A mercy petition filed by 2012 Delhi gang-rape convict Akshay Singh will be heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, amid mounting speculation that the four men convicted in the rape-and-murder case may be executed soon.
Akshay Singh Thakur, who had not filed the review plea earlier with the other three convicts, had moved the apex court with the petition on Wednesday. One of the four condemned men in the case, he moved the Supreme Court on Tuesday for a review of its 2017 judgment, saying "executions only kill criminals, not the crime."
On July 9, 2018, the Supreme Court had dismissed the pleas of the convicts who had sought review of its 2017 verdict upholding the death sentence.
The trial court and the Delhi High Court had also awarded them capital punishment. The order was passed in the case of three convicts as the court-Akshay preferred not to appeal.
Meanwhile, the Tihar Jail in Delhi has asked Uttar Pradesh to provide two hangmen on short notice, amid reports that four men convicted in the Nirbhaya rape-and-murder case may be executed soon.
On December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old woman was gang-raped and assaulted inside a moving bus in South Delhi by six persons before being thrown out on the road. She breathed her last on December 29, 2012.
While one accused, Ram Singh hanged himself in jail, another a juvenile was convicted and served a three-year term at a reform facility.