Will Nirbhaya’s killers hang on Feb 1? Unlikely

New Delhi, Jan 29: The Supreme Court has rejected the curative petition filed by Mukesh Singh, who is on a death row in connection with the Nirbhaya case. The hanging of the four convicts, Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Singh and Pawan Gupta is slated for February 1, 7 am.

However, there could be some hurdles before the hanging takes place as Akshay Singh has now filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court. He filed the plea after his review petition was rejected by the Supreme Court.

His plea would be heard in-chambers in the Supreme Court. Once his plea is rejected he has the option to send a mercy plea to the President of India.

As of now the curative pleas filed by Mukesh Singh and Vinay Sharma have been rejected. In case the mercy petition filed by Akshay Singh is rejected, he still has the option to seek review of the same before the Supreme Court, like in the case of Mukesh Singh.

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.