New Delhi:
Patiala House Sessions Court judge Satish Arora on Tuesday afternoon issued the death warrant for the execution of all the four accused in the brutal gang-rape and murder of Nirbhaya in New Delhi on December 16, 2012. Seven years after the gruesome incident that shook the conscience of the country all the four accused – Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh who are currently lodged in Tihar jail will be hanged till death on January 22 at 7.00 am sharp.
The justices held dialogue with the four accused lodged in the Tihar jail via Video Conferencing and read out the judgment to them. Lawyer of the accused Advocate A P Singh announced that they will file a Curative Petition before the Supreme Court of India over the judgment. Lawyers from both the sides got into heated arguments with each other, so much so that the judge had to intervene and restore order in the court room.
Reacting to the court order, Asha Devi, mother of Nirbhaya remarked “my daughter has got justice. Execution of the four convicts will empower the women of the country. This decision will strengthen the trust of the people in the judicial system”. Reacting to the court order, Nirbhaya’s Father remarked “we did not garland her photo for seven years, but we will garland it on January 22. Asha Devi and accused Mukesh’s mother were seen crying in the court room.
The Supreme Court last year had already dismissed the petition filed by Akshay Kumar Singh challenging the death sentence awarded to them. The four accused now have only two options left one is filing the Curative Petition and another filing a Mercy Petition before the President of India. It is highly unlikely that the SC or the President of India are likely to entertain their plea.
Nirbhaya (not her real name), the 23 Physiotherapy Intern had boarded a bus from a near desolate bus stop at Munirka in south Delhi along with her boyfriend on the night of December 16, 2012. The girl was brutally gang-raped and then murdered, while her boyfriend to was badly beaten up and thrown out of the moving bus. Nirbhaya was later shifted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore where she succumbed to her injuries on December 29, 2012.
Following the Patiala House Sessions Court issuing the order, a Black Warrant (Death Warrant) is issued which mentions the name of the accused who is sentenced to death, the time and place of the execution. The Black Warrant is part of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and is handed over to the Jailor of the prison where the accused are to be hanged.
