President Ram Nath Kovind today turned down the mercy petition of Nirbhaya gang-rape convict Vinay Sharma, the second convict to have exhausted his last constitutional remedy after Mukesh Kumar. The two other convicts Pawan Gupta and Akshay Thakur, are yet to approach the President for mercy.
The President’s decision exhausts all the possibilities of Sharma escaping the gallows.
Under Article 72, the President can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving capital punishment.
After today’s development, Sharma can’t be hanged before February 15 as rules state that a convict must be given 14 days between the rejection of a mercy plea and his execution. The other three convicts are still trying to avail other legal remedies available.
All four convicts were to hang this morning, but on Friday, a Delhi Court deferred the hanging till further orders as a decision had not yet been taken on Vinay Sharma’s mercy plea.
“Without commenting upon the dilatory tactics adopted by the convicts, suffice it would be to state that seeking redressal of one’s grievances through the procedure established by law is the hallmark of any civilized society,” the Patiala House court said.
On January 17, a Sessions Court in Patiala House had issued black warrants for their execution on February 1. Public prosecutor Irfan Ahmed represented the Tihar Jail authorities in the case.