Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case: SC to deliver verdict today on petition of convict against rejection of mercy plea

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will pronounce its verdict on Wednesday on the plea moved by one of the convicts of the Nirbhaya gang-rape case, Mukesh Singh, against the rejection of his mercy petition by the President.

Four convicts are scheduled to be executed on February 1 at 6 am, according to the death warrants issued by a Delhi court.

The President had rejected the mercy petition of Mukesh on January 17 and the death warrants were issued the same day.

A 23-year-old psychotherapy student, dubbed by media as 'Nirbhaya', was gang-raped and brutalised on a moving bus on December 16, 2012, before being dumped on the road. She was airlifted to Singapore where she died on December 29, 2012. 

Six people, including a juvenile, were arrested for the crime. The juvenile was released after serving a three-year term at a juvenile home, one convict allegedly committed suicide in jail while four others - Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) - are set to be hanged on January 22.

Earlier, death warrants for all four convicts were issued by a judge on January 7, ordering their execution on January 22 at 7 am, but after Mukesh's mercy plea to the President, the execution was postponed to February 1. 

Mukesh Singh moved the Supreme Court, filed mercy plea and then again moved the High Court against the death warrant, delaying the execution.