Over to MHA as Delhi govt rejects mercy plea by convict in Nirbhaya rape and murder case

New Delhi, Dec 02: The Delhi Government has recommended the rejection of the mercy petition filed by the killers in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case.

The Delhi High Court and Supreme Court had both quashed the plea by convict Vinay Sharma to reject the verdict of the trial court which had awarded death sentence.

The Delhi government in a letter written to the Lieutenant Governor, Anil Baijal said that the government strongly recommends the rejection of the mercy plea filed by Sharma. It is the fittest case to reject the mercy petition, keeping in view the heinous and gravest crime of extreme brutality committed by the applicant.

This is the most heinous crime of extreme brutality committed by the applicant. This is the case where exemplary punishment should be given to deter others from committing such atrocious crimes. There is no merit in the mercy petition and is strongly recommended for rejection, Delhi's Home Minister, Satyendar Jain said in the letter to Baijal.

Following this development, the plea will now be sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs. It may be recalled that Nirbhaya's parents had approached the court to expedite the process to hang all the four convicts in the case.

Nirbhaya, the 23-year-old paramedic was brutally gang-raped on December 16, 2012, inside a bus by 6 persons. While one of the convicts died in jail and another served time and was released owing to the fact that he was a juvenile.