Nirbhaya gangrape case: Convicts asked to 'file mercy plea or face death'

Four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape case have been informed by Tihar jail authorities that they have exhausted all legal remedies except to file a mercy petition against their death sentence before President Ram Nath Kovind.

In a notice dated October 29, the jail authorities asked the convicts to file the mercy petition, if they wish, within seven days of receiving the notice.

"It is informed that all legal remedies in your case in the matter of State vs Ram Singh... have been exhausted except the provision of filing of mercy petition against the capital sentence before the Hon'ble President of India," the jail authorities said in a notice sent to the convicts on Tuesday.

It further said, "It is hereby informed that, in case, you have not yet filed the mercy petition and if you wish to file it, you can file it within seven days of the receipt of this notice, through prison authorities, failing which it will be presumed that you are no willing to file mercy petition and the jail administration will initiate further necessary legal proceedings as per law."

As per law, the convicts can plead for mercy from the President and seek commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment. If the President allows the mercy petition, then the convicts may escape the gallows.

In December 2012, the convicts along with two others had gangraped a 23-year-old paramedic student inside a running bus in South Delhi. The victim was physically assaulted and was thrown out on the road along with her male friend. She succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Singapore on December 29, 2012, where she was airlifted for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, reacting to the development, the victim's mother, Asha Devi, said: "This should have happened long ago, Supreme Court had given the verdict in 2017. I have been struggling for seven years now, but they haven't been hanged yet. Jail authorities have taken the right step."

Out of the six perpetrators, one committed suicide by hanging himself in prison, while another, a juvenile, served maximum punishment of three years in a reform home and was set free in 2015.

The remaining four rapists were convicted and handed death sentence by a trial court in 2013, which was confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014. The Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court's verdict in 2017.

The incident led to a huge public outcry, prompting the government to overhaul anti-rape laws.