Nirbhaya case convicts using law for joyride: Centre to Delhi High Court

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Centre, told the Delhi High Court that the convicts were working in tandem to delay hanging.

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Saturday told the Delhi High Court that the convicts in 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case were taking the law and the judicial process for a ''joyride.'' This submission was made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on behalf of the Centre before the Delhi court.

''Convicts in Nirbhaya case have taken the process of law to "joyride" and are acting in tandem to delay the execution,'' Mehta said. He also lamented that the Nirbhaya gangrape case will go down in the history of India where convicts of the heinous crime are trying the patience of country.

After hearing Mehta's submission, the high court issued a notice to all 4 convicts in the case and the Tihar Jail officials. The hearing will now take place on a special Sunday sitting on February 2 at 3 pm, the court said.

The extremely critical remarks from the Solicitor General came a day after a Delhi court stayed till further orders the execution of the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder convicts, which was earlier scheduled to take place on February 1. Additional sessions judge Dharmender Rana had reserved the order in the matter earlier today.

During the hearing on Friday, public prosecutor Irfan Ahmad said that convict Mukesh has no legal remedies available and the sentence on Mukesh should be executed.

Advocate AP Singh, appearing on behalf of the convicts, submitted that some legal remedies are still available for the convicts adding that Mukesh has been sincerely pursuing all legal remedies without delay.

On the other hand, Ahmad argued that the application moved by Vinay and Akshay is non-maintainable as per the Delhi Prison Rules but said that the execution of Vinay can be postponed.

Recently, another convict Vinay Sharma had filed a mercy petition in the matter. Advocate Seema Kushwaha, representing the victim`s side, said that the convicts herein are adopting delay tactics to thwart the speed of justice.

A Delhi court had earlier issued death warrants for the four convicts - Akshay Thakur, Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, and Vinay Kumar Sharma - for their execution on February 1. The case pertains to the gang-rape and brutalising of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people including a juvenile in Delhi. 

The woman had died at a Singapore hospital a few days later. One of the five adults accused, Ram Singh, had allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail during the trial of the case.