Nirbhaya case: SC to hear plea on issuance of new death warrant on February 17

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The Patiala House Court will hear a plea seeking the issuance of a new death warrant against Nirbhaya's convicts on Monday (February 17). In the last hearing, the Tihar Jail authorities had said that Pawan informed that he does not need a lawyer.

Nirbhaya's parents and the Delhi government had moved the court on February 11 seeking fresh death warrants for the four convicts after the Supreme Court granted liberty to the authorities to approach the trial court for issuance of fresh date for the execution of these convicts.

During the last hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was asked that when the chart reveals that three mercy petitions have been dismissed and that convict Pawan Gupta has not filed the mercy petition yet, why was a fresh death warrant being sought. 

The date of execution, first fixed for January 22 in Tihar jail, was postponed for 6 am on February 1 by a January 17 court order. The trial court later, on January 31 stayed, "till further orders" the execution of the four convicts in the case, who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

The four convicts on death row are Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Thakur.