The hanging of convicts in Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case from 2012 has been delayed over and over again. A Delhi court offered a counsel to Pawan Gupta, one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, saying a condemned convict is entitled to legal aid till his last breath.
Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana expressed displeasure over delay from Pawan's side who said he has removed his earlier lawyer and will need time to engage a new one.
Over delayed hangings, Nirbhaya¡¯s mother Asha Devi, who has been running pillar to post, to ensure her deceased daughter gets justice, broke down in the court.?
¡°What about my rights? I am standing here with folded hands. Please issue a death warrant. I am also human. It has been over seven years.
¡°I am wandering here and there to get justice for my daughter. These convicts are using delaying tactics. I don¡¯t know why the court is not able to understand this,¡± she broke down while speaking.
Nirbhaya's parents and the Delhi government had moved the court on Tuesday seeking fresh death warrants for the four convicts after the Supreme Court granted liberty to the authorities to approach the trial court for issuance of fresh date for the execution of these convicts.
The date of execution, first fixed for January 22 in Tihar jail, was postponed for 6 am on February 1 by a January 17 court order. The trial court later, on January 31 stayed, "till further orders" the execution of the four convicts in the case, who are lodged in Tihar Jail.
The Tihar jail authorities had filed a status report on Tuesday before the trial court stating that no legal option was preferred by any convicts -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31) -- in last seven-day period, granted by the Delhi High Court.