New Delhi, February 13: The Supreme Court reserved order for Friday 2 pm on the issue of rejection of death row convict Vinay Kumar Sharma's mercy petition by President Kovind. His lawyer told the Apex Court, "Vinay Sharma was kept in illegal confinement. He was illegally tortured in Tihar jail prison. I am here only to seek justice, where can I go for justice? That is why I am pleading here before this SC for justice."
Replying to it, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, "He(convict Vinay Sharma) was not kept in solitary confinement, as argued by advocate AP Singh. There is a limited scope of judicial review, as the President of India had rejected the mercy petition after duly considering and applying his mind." Nirbhaya Case: Victim's Mother Breaks Down During Court Hearing, Says 'I Am Losing Faith & Hope Now, Please Issue the Death Warrant'.
Check ANI tweet:
'He(convict Vinay Sharma) was not kept in solitary confinement, as argued by advocate AP Singh. There is limited scope of judicial review, as the President of India had rejected the mercy petition after duly considering and applying his mind', said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta https://t.co/OE04zoavgB
— ANI (@ANI) February 13, 2020
On Wednesday, Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi in court today broke down during the session and said, "What about my rights? I am standing with folded hands. Please issue the death warrant, I am also a human. It's been more than 7 years".
Earlier in the day, Supreme court rejected the request of Nirbhaya case death-row convict Vinay Sharma to peruse recommendation for rejection of his mercy plea. Sharma's counsel further alleged in the court that the Delhi lieutenant governor and the state home minister had not signed the recommendation for rejection of his mercy plea.
However, a bench of Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna perused the record and said the lieutenant governor and the home minister indeed signed the recommendation for rejection of his mercy petition. Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta, Mukesh Singh and Akshay Singh - the four accused are convicted for the Nirbhaya's gangrape and murder. The Nirbhaya case is related to the gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student on December 16, 2012.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 13, 2020 01:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).