Nirbhaya's Mother Asha Devi Breaks Down After Delhi Court Stays February 1 Execution of Convicts, Says 'Defence Lawyer AP Singh Bragged Hanging Will Never Happen'

New Delhi, January 31: Moments after a Delhi court stayed hanging of all four convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, victim's mother Asha Devi broke down and said that the defence lawyer bragged that "the hanging will never happen". "The lawyer of the convicts, AP Singh has challenged me saying that the convicts will never be executed. I will continue my fight. The government will have to execute the convicts," sobbing Asha Devi told reporters. Nirbhaya Gangrape And Murder Case: Death Row Convict Vinay Sharma Wants to Attach His Personal Diary With Mercy Petition.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana on Friday directed the Tihar Jail authorities not to execute the death warrants issued against the convicts. All four convicts - Mukesh Kumar Singh, Akshay Singh, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta - were scheduled to be hanged at 6 am tomorrow. Earlier today, the Supreme Court dismissed a review petition filed by Pawan, challenging the Delhi High Court order declining to entertain his plea that he was a juvenile when the offence was committed.

Two convicts' lawyers AP Singh and Vrinda Grover moved applications in the Delhi court, seeking a stay on the execution of the death sentence awarded to the four death row convicts. During the hearing, Tihar Jail authorities told the court that only one convict's mercy petition is pending before President Ram Nath Kovind, while three other convicts can be hanged on February 1 as per the death warrant.

This was opposed by the convict's lawyers. "Sentence is a common sentence, death warrant is a common warrant. Therefore, these convicts can't be executed separately," advocate Grover argued. While rapist Mukesh has exhausted his legal recourse of curative petition, Vinay's mercy petition is pending before President Kovind.

The 23-year-old victim was brutally gangraped and tortured on December 16, 2012, which later led to her death. All the six accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused was a minor and appeared before a juvenile justice court, while another accused committed suicide in Tihar Jail.

Four of the convicts were sentenced to death by a trial court in September 2013, and the verdict was confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014 and upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2017, which also dismissed their review petition in July 2018.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2020 06:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).