Nirbhaya case: Reject Mukesh Singh's mercy plea, say Delhi government, Lieutenant Governor; BJP blames AAP for execution delay

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government and subsequently Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Thursday recommended rejection of the mercy petition filed by one of the Nirbhaya case convicts, Mukesh Singh.

However, the BJP accused AAP dispensation of "negligence" and delay in the hanging of those on death row.

Sources said Baijal has forwarded the recommendation to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which will now place before President Ram Nath Kovind with its opinion on the mercy plea filed by Mukesh Singh on Tuesday.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the Delhi government on Wednesday forwarded its recommendation on Mukesh's plea to the LG at "lightning speed".

Sources said Baijal also recommended the rejection of the plea and forwarded it to the MHA.

Earlier in December, the MHA had recommended to the President to reject of mercy plea of another convict in the case, Vinay Sharma, following both Delhi government and the Lieutenant Governor finding no merit in the application.

The BJP accused the AAP government of "negligence" for the "delay" in the hanging of Nirbhaya case convicts and said it took over two-and-a-half years to give notice to convicts after Supreme Court rejected their appeal against the death sentence in 2017.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, had the AAP government given notices to all convicts within a week of the Supreme Court order, they would have been hanged by now.

"The case shook the whole country and the only reason that the convicts are still not hanged is the negligence of the AAP government. Why did Delhi government not give notice for two-and-a-half years? They are responsible for the delay in the case," he told reporters.

Referring to Delhi government's statement in High Court that the execution of the four convicts cannot take place on January 22 as they should be given 14 days after their mercy plea is rejected, Javadekar said the entire country wants the four accused to be hanged. "He (Delhi government lawyer) says there is still time to appeal. Who gave this additional time? This is the callousness of Delhi government," he added.