Nirbhaya rape convict's lawyer to file curative petition by soon

Senior advocate A P Singh, representing the death-row convict, Akshay Kumar Singh, whose review petition was rejected by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, said that he will file the curative petition soon.

"I will file the curative petition by today or tomorrow. As out grounds, we will give a list of seventeen rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases in which the death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment," Singh told the media persons.

His comments came after a three-judge bench of the apex court dismissed Akshay's review petition today.

Akshay had moved the top court seeking clemency on the ground that the "rising pollution" has already increased the mortality rates. He sought commutation of the death penalty awarded to him and four others.

Besides Akshay, three other convicts, Mukesh, Akshay and Pawan are facing the gallows for rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012. The girl, who was later named Nirbhaya, died of injuries a few days later.

Two more persons, including prime accused Ram Singh, were also accused of committing the crime. Singh, however, committed suicide in the Tihar jail during the trial of the case. Another accused was a minor at the time of the commission of the crime and was sent to a reform facility.

In 2013, a fast-track court had held the four condemned men guilty in the case. Their conviction was also upheld by the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court later.

Akshay is only one of the four convicts who had not filed the review petition in the case. Mukesh, Pawan and Vinay had filed the review petition last year but it was rejected by the apex court. As a last resort, Vinay, filed a mercy petition last month, but later sought to withdraw it.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court is also slated to hear a petition seeking issuance of death warrants against the four convicts today.