Delhi court refuses to stay execution of Nirbhaya rapists; convicts to be hanged tomorrow

A Delhi court on Thursday refused to stay the execution of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, which is scheduled to take place tomorrow morning.

Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana had earlier reserved the order on the plea seeking a stay on the execution after hearing arguments from all the sides in the matter.

During the hearing, public prosecutor Irfan Ahmad had told the court that Pawan Gupta's curative petition has been rejected by the Supreme Court adding that the second mercy petition of Pawan and Akshay Singh Thakur has not been entertained by the President.

Advocate AP Singh, appearing for the convicts, apprised the court about the pending cases in different courts and sought a stay on the execution due to the impact of coronavirus spread on the functioning of courts.

Earlier today, Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by Mukesh Singh, another convict in the matter, challenging a Delhi High Court's order rejecting his claim that he was not in the national capital when the crime was committed.

This comes as the four convicts -- Mukesh Singh, Akshay Singh Thakur, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta -- are scheduled to be hanged at 5.30 am on March 20.

The case pertains to the brutal gang-rape and killing of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people including a juvenile in the national capital. The woman had died at a Singapore hospital a few days later.