NHRC dismisses Nirbhaya convict's mother's plea to stay execution

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday said it has dismissed a complaint filed by the mother of one of the Nirbhaya case convicts seeking its intervention to stay his execution, saying it has "not found any substance sufficient" for taking cognizance of the matter.

The NHRC's decision came on the complaint filed by Ram Bai, who is the mother of one of the four death-row convicts Ram Singh.

She has claimed that all the accused, including her son, have been "falsely implicated" in the case and their execution in compliance of the court orders will be a miscarriage of justice. She also said her son is also a witness in the case of custodial death of the co-accused Ram Singh, who was found hanging inside the Tihar Jail in March 2013.

In her complaint filed through lawyer A P Singh, she also claimed that legal remedies are still pending before courts but the authorities are still planning to hang them on March 20. "Due to various kind of viral infections, pollution and other hazards, the life has become very short in Delhi NCR region hence, the death penalty and its execution is not at all justifiable," she added.

The NHRC said it had already settled the case of Ram Singh as the magisterial inquiry had categorically concluded that there was no foul play or negligence. Since there was no negligence on the part of any of the authorities, it said no compensation was recommended by the Commission.

"The Commission has not found any substance sufficient for taking cognizance of the matter...So far as the prayer made by the complainant to stay execution of the death sentence is concerned, it is apparent that the said convict Mukesh Kumar has already approached the appropriate authorities and the authorities have exercised their jurisdiction judiciously. The matter is outside the purview of the Commission. The complaint is, therefore, dismissed in limine," it said.