Delhi: The hanging of Nirbhaya convicts on February 1 has been postponed. The Patiala House Court of Delhi has stayed the death warrant of the convicts till further orders. The court has not fixed any date of hanging. In this way, the death warrant of Nirbhaya’s convicts has been postponed for the second time. A petition was filed on behalf of Nirbhaya convicts in the Patiala House Court, requesting to postpone the hanging on February 1. On Thursday, the court issued notice to Tihar Jail asking it to present its case on Friday morning. On Friday, the jail authorities opposed the petition in a status report filed before Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana.
The jail was informed that Vinay’s mercy petition is pending with the President, while none of the other convicts are pending in the court. In such a situation, there is no legal hurdle in hanging the three convicts Pawan, Vinay and Akshay
on February 1. The counsel for the convicts then said that the jail manual says that if the plea of one convict is pending, the rest cannot be hanged. According to the Supreme Court ruling, 14 days will be given after the mercy petition is dismissed. Therefore, no one can be hanged. He sought an indefinite moratorium on the death warrant.
During the hearing, the counsel for Nirbhaya’s parents objected to the appearance of Mukesh’s lawyer Vrinda Grover. However, the court allowed Vrinda to argue. Vrinda said that the culprits cannot be hanged separately. During the hearing, a debate took place between the lawyers, on which the judge expressed his displeasure. On January 17, the lower court had issued a death warrant for the second time to sentence the four convicts Mukesh, Pawan, Vinay and Akshay to death in the Tihar Jail on February 1 at 6 am. Earlier on January 7, the court fixed January 22 for the execution.