Delhi: A three-justice bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the review plea filed by Akshay Kumar Singh, one of the four convicts sentenced to death in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case. Akshay Kumar Singh had filed the plea seeking review of the Supreme Court order of 2017 confirming the death penalty for him.
Justice R. Banumathi, who headed the bench, said the court would not allow the petitioner to cast doubts on the evidence against him as it was already heard. The court said the circumstances of the case against Akshay Kumar Singh were the same as those against the other three convicts.
The rejection of the review plea means that Akshay Kumar Singh and the other convicts only have the recourse of filing curative pleas and then mercy petitions to avoid the death penalty. Vinay Sharma, one of the four convicts, had, earlier this month, sought the withdrawal of his mercy petition to the president, claiming it had been sent without his consent. Akshay Kumar Singh’s lawyer said he could file a curative plea if the review petition was rejected.