Nirbhaya gangrape and murder death-row convict Akshay Kumar has filed a fresh mercy petition before the President Ram Nath Kovind just three days before the scheduled execution on the ground that the earlier mercy petition did not contain all the facts.
Earlier, Akshay had moved his earlier mercy petition on February 1 and the same was rejected by the President Ram Nath Kovind on March 3.
The four convicts in 2012 gang-rape and murder case are scheduled to be executed at 6 am on March 3.
This can be seen as another delay tactic employed by the convicts as fresh death warrants would have to be issued after the court hears the plea.
Both Akshay and Pawan, two of the four death row convicts, have moved a Delhi court today seeking a stay on the execution of death warrants for all of them as they have their petitions pending before different legal authorities.
The Delhi court has sought a response to Singh’s plea from Tihar Jail authorities by Monday.
The Delhi court asked Tihar jail authorities to file a report on an application moved by Akshay through seeking a stay on the execution of the death warrant.
This can be seen as another delay tactic employed by the convicts as fresh death warrants would have to be issued after the court hears the plea.
A 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as ”Nirbhaya”, was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.
Six people, including the four convicts, Ram Singh and a juvenile — were named as accused.
The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court in March 2013.
Ram Singh, the prime accused, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in Tihar jail days after the trial began. The juvenile, who was said to be the most brutal of the attackers, was put in a correctional home for three years.
The juvenile was released in 2015 and sent to an undisclosed location amid concerns over a threat to his life. He, when released, was 20 years old.
The trial of the four adults began in a special fast-track court in March 2013 and they were sentenced to death in September 2013 by the trial court.
