<p> A Delhi court on Friday issued fresh death warrants against four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, fixing February 1 at 6 am as the time of their hanging.</p>.<p>Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora passed the order issuing new date of execution on a plea filed by Mukesh Kumar Singh, on a day when the President rejected his mercy petition.</p>.<p>Of the four convicts, only Mukesh has so far filed the mercy petition. Two convicts Akshay and Pawan have yet not exercised their option of filing the curative petition in the Supreme Court, decided by judges inside their chamber.</p>.<p>There is no time limit fixed for filing the curative petition, evolved by the top court for reconsideration of its judgement, even after dismissal of the review petition, to cure “gross miscarriage of justice”.</p>.<p>If other convicts decided to file curative petitions and subsequently mercy pleas before February 1, this may further delay the execution.</p>.<p>According to the SC's judgement in Shatrughan Chauhan Versus Union of India (2014), there has to be a minimum 14 days time gap between the rejection of the mercy petition and execution of the death row convict.</p>.<p>The court had earlier on January 7 directed that the four convicts -- Mukesh (32) Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) – would be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail.</p>.<p>However, the date for execution was rescheduled on a plea by Mukesh. The authorities of Tihar jail, where all the four convicts are lodged at present, also submitted before the court that the convict was informed about the rejection of his mercy petition on Friday itself.</p>.<p>On this, the prosecutor also informed the court that in the circumstances, the convicts can't be hanged on January 22.</p>.<p>During the hearing, advocate for convict Pawan, A P Singh submitted that he has also filed a petition in the top court, challenging the Delhi HC's order of December 19 rejecting his contention that he was juvenile at the time of the offence in 2012.</p>.<p>On January 14, the Supreme Court dismissed the curative petitions by Vinay and Mukesh. The top court had earlier rejected the review petitions against the capital punishment awarded by the trial court and affirmed by the High Court and Supreme Court.</p>.<p>The matter related to brutal assault and gang rape of 23-year-old paramedic student, referred to as Nirbhaya, on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012 in a moving bus in south Delhi by the six people. Bus driver Ram Singh died in judicial custody. Another accused was released after having been kept in observation home for three years for being juvenile.</p>.<p>The case had caused widespread protest and outrage across the country. The victim had on December 29, 2012, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, losing her battle for life.</p>
<p> A Delhi court on Friday issued fresh death warrants against four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, fixing February 1 at 6 am as the time of their hanging.</p>.<p>Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora passed the order issuing new date of execution on a plea filed by Mukesh Kumar Singh, on a day when the President rejected his mercy petition.</p>.<p>Of the four convicts, only Mukesh has so far filed the mercy petition. Two convicts Akshay and Pawan have yet not exercised their option of filing the curative petition in the Supreme Court, decided by judges inside their chamber.</p>.<p>There is no time limit fixed for filing the curative petition, evolved by the top court for reconsideration of its judgement, even after dismissal of the review petition, to cure “gross miscarriage of justice”.</p>.<p>If other convicts decided to file curative petitions and subsequently mercy pleas before February 1, this may further delay the execution.</p>.<p>According to the SC's judgement in Shatrughan Chauhan Versus Union of India (2014), there has to be a minimum 14 days time gap between the rejection of the mercy petition and execution of the death row convict.</p>.<p>The court had earlier on January 7 directed that the four convicts -- Mukesh (32) Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) – would be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail.</p>.<p>However, the date for execution was rescheduled on a plea by Mukesh. The authorities of Tihar jail, where all the four convicts are lodged at present, also submitted before the court that the convict was informed about the rejection of his mercy petition on Friday itself.</p>.<p>On this, the prosecutor also informed the court that in the circumstances, the convicts can't be hanged on January 22.</p>.<p>During the hearing, advocate for convict Pawan, A P Singh submitted that he has also filed a petition in the top court, challenging the Delhi HC's order of December 19 rejecting his contention that he was juvenile at the time of the offence in 2012.</p>.<p>On January 14, the Supreme Court dismissed the curative petitions by Vinay and Mukesh. The top court had earlier rejected the review petitions against the capital punishment awarded by the trial court and affirmed by the High Court and Supreme Court.</p>.<p>The matter related to brutal assault and gang rape of 23-year-old paramedic student, referred to as Nirbhaya, on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012 in a moving bus in south Delhi by the six people. Bus driver Ram Singh died in judicial custody. Another accused was released after having been kept in observation home for three years for being juvenile.</p>.<p>The case had caused widespread protest and outrage across the country. The victim had on December 29, 2012, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, losing her battle for life.</p>
