Nirbhaya case: SC dismisses plea of convict Pawan claiming he was minor during crime

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case convict Pawan Kumar Gupta claiming that he was a juvenile at the time of crime--December 16, 2012. He also said that this fact was not taken into account by Delhi High Court during the proceedings in the case. The apex court did not find any fresh ground in the matter and so dismissed the plea.

Reacting to this, Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi said, "Their tactic to delay hanging has been rejected. I'll be satisfied only when they're hanged on February 1. Just like they're delaying it one after other, they must be hanged one by one so that they understand what it means to toy with law."
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It is to be noted that Pawan had filed the same plea in the Delhi HC too but it was rejected by the court. On January 17, Pawan had approached the apex court challenging the high court order in this case.

Pawan`s lawyer A P Singh has claimed in the petition that his client's date of birth as per school record is October 8, 1996, but this fact was ignored by Delhi High Court. The SLP will be heard by a three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice R Banumathi and Justices Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna. 

Meanwhile, a fresh death warrant has been issued by the Patiala House Court on January 17 for the hanging of four Nirbhaya rape and murder convicts on February 1 at 6 am. The hanging of all the four convicts will take place at the same time in Delhi's Tihar jail.

Reacting to the latest development, Asha Devi on Friday had said that the sensitive issue was being politicised. "The government can`t see our pain. I lost my daughter seven years ago I want justice," Asha Devi had told Zee News. She has alleged foul play in the case and that the execution of four convicts was deliberately being delayed.

Four convicts, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan and Mukesh were convicted and sentenced to death for raping the 23-year-old victim in a moving bus in the national capital on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012.