After a Delhi court dismissed a plea by three of the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya case, her mother Asha Devi on Thursday, 19 March, said that her daughter's soul will now rest in peace and she will get justice seven years after the gruesome gang rape and murder that shook the nation.
“Finally, the convicts will be hanged. Now, I will get peace,” Devi told PTI. A Delhi court earlier on Thursday dismissed the plea of three of the four death-row convicts seeking a stay on the execution slated for early morning on Friday.
‘All Legal Remedies Exhausted’
Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana dismissed the plea of Akshay Kumar, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma seeking stay on the death penalty, saying the second mercy plea of one of them was still pending.
The court was informed by the public prosecutor that second mercy pleas of Akshay and Pawan, were rejected on the ground that the first such plea was entertained and considered on merit.
He told the court that advocate AP Singh, counsel for the convicts, was giving false information stating second mercy plea of Pawan was pending and said that all the convicts have exhausted their legal remedies.
Singh also said that convict Akshay's wife has filed for a divorce in a city court in Bihar which was pending, to which the special public prosecutor said any other petition does not fall under the purview of legal remedy in the present case.
4 Convicts to Be Hanged Together for the 1st Time in Tihar
Seven years after the execution of Afzal Guru, Tihar Jail on Thursday prepared the ground to hang the four men convicted in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case after several dummy runs and officials brushing up on details specified in the jail manual.
This is the first time that four men will be hanged together in Tihar Jail, South Asia’s largest prison complex that houses more than 16,000 inmates.
A senior prison official said Pawan Jallad, a hangman from Meerut, reported to the Tihar Jail administration on Tuesday evening to prepare for the exercise.
According to the jail manual, the jail superintendent will oversee the testing of the ropes and also inspect the gallows a day before the execution. This will be followed by a dummy execution - a dummy or a bag of sand weighing 1.5 times the weight of the prisoner will be hanged and dropped between 1.830 and 2.440 metres to test the rope.
The execution, specifies the Delhi Prison Rules 2018, will take place in the presence of the superintendent, deputy superintendent, medical officer in charge, resident medical officer and the district magistrate or additional district magistrate.
How the Execution is Set to Pan Out
A guard of not less than 10 constables, warders and two head constables, head warders or an equal number from the prison armed guard, will also be present, it states.
The families of the prisoner will not be allowed to witness the executions. All other prisoners will be kept locked till the exercise is over and the bodies removed from the prison.
The manual specifies that a medical officer prepares a report four days ahead of the date of execution, mentioning the length of the drop to be given to the prisoner who is to be executed.Two spare ropes for each prisoner sentenced to death are kept in reserve.
After testing, the rope and other equipment will be locked and sealed in a steel box and kept in charge of deputy superintendent, it states.If the prisoner wants, a priest of his faith may be allowed.
On the morning of the execution, the prisoner will be visited by senior officials, including the superintendent, the district magistrate/additional district magistrate and the medical officer, in his cell
Any documents, including the will of the prisoner can be signed and attested in the presence of the superintendent and the district magistrate or additional district magistrate.Just before entering the gallows-enclosure, a cotton cap with flap will be put on the prisoner's face so he can't see the gallows, according to jail rules.
The wardens will hold the prisoners and withdraw following a signal from the superintendent. After that, the hangman draws the bolt, the manual states.
The body of the executed prisoner is disposed of according to the requirements of the religion to which the executed prisoner belonged. It will be handed over the family following a post-mortem. An ambulance shall be used for the transportation of the body to the cremation or burial ground.
Their executions were deferred thrice earlier.The last hanging in Tihar was on 9 February, 2013 when Afzal Guru, a resident of Sopore in north Kashmir, was executed at 8 am and buried on the prison premises for his role in the terror attack on Parliament.
On 5 March, a trial court had issued fresh death warrants for 20 March at 5.30 am, as the date for the execution of convicts Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31).
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