Two Nirbhaya case convicts seek stay on execution citing pending mercy plea

Convicts Akshay Singh and Pawan Kumar Gupta on Saturday moved a Delhi court seeking a stay on the execution of death warrants against all four, scheduled for March 3, in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana issued notice to Tihar Jail authorities on the plea of Singh, directing them to file their response by March 2.

In his plea moved through his lawyer, Singh claimed that he has filed a fresh mercy petition before the President of India, which is pending.

Advocate A P Singh, appearing for Singh, said that his earlier mercy petition that was dismissed by the President did not have complete facts.

Gupta, in his plea, contended that his curative petition has been pending in the Supreme Court.

The four convicts -- Singh, Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma and Akshay Kumar -- are scheduled to be hanged at 6 AM on March 3.