2012 Delhi Gang Rape Convicts May Be Hanged Soon As Vinay Sharma Wants His Mercy Plea Withdrawn

Adding a fresh twist to the debate over the delay in executing the death sentence of the 2012 Delhi gangrape convicts, Vinay Sharma, one of the four rapists, has now said that he is withdrawing his mercy plea to the president.

According to ANI, Sharma has moved a plea before President Ram Nath Kovind seeking the immediate withdrawal of the mercy petition. Sharma has claimed that the mercy plea sent to the President by the Ministry of Home Affairs was not signed by him. In the mercy petition, Sharma had pleaded to commute his execution and reduce it to life imprisonment.

The development comes a day after the Delhi Government and the Union Home Ministry wrote to the President of India recommending the rejection of the mercy plea. There are also reports that the convicts may file a curative petition.

So far only Sharma had filed a mercy plea, while Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta, and Mukesh have not even filed a review. Another convict, who was minor at the time of the crime was released from jail in 2015. Ram Singh, who was also arrested in the case was found dead, hanging in his jail cell in 2013.

Earlier in a letter to President Kovind, the mother of the 23-year-old rape victim had said that the petition filed by Sharma was ¡°deliberately trying to avoid the execution of the death sentence and hamper the dissemination of justice.¡±

The six men all of them who used to work as bus drivers or cleaners were arrested for the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student on a moving bus in the national capital on the night of December 16, 2012.

The girl and her male friend had boarded the bus to return home after watching a movie. While the bus was still moving, the men attacked the male friend and took turns to rape her and dumped them on the road. The girl who had suffered serious internal injuries was initially treated at AIIMS but was later shifted to Singapore where she died.

Even though the fast track court had convicted the four men to death in 2013, the sentence has not been executed as they filed appeals unsuccessfully in both the Delhi High Court and later in the Supreme Court.

According to many the delay in the execution of the four convicts has raised questions on the judicial system.

A large section of the people who cheered and celebrated the encounter killing of the four rape and murder accused on Friday had said that they want instant justice like what happened in Hyderabad and do not want rapists jailed for years.