After the Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the death warrants of the Nirbhaya’s rapists-killers, a city court on Thursday directed Tihar Jail authorities to file a proper report by Friday about the status of the scheduled execution of convicts.

Taking cognisance of the issue, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal recommended the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to reject the mercy petition of one of the convicts, Mukesh Kumar, who filed it a few days ago.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Satish Kumar Arora, who had issued death warrants against convicts Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Thakur, passed the directions after the jail authorities said they have written to the Delhi Government on the issue of scheduled execution on January 22 in view of pending mercy plea.

The court was hearing a plea by one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya case, Mukesh, seeking postponement of the date of his execution on the ground that his mercy petition is pending with the President.

In a related development, senior MHA officials said the L-G’s recommendation to reject the mercy petition has been received. “The petition is being examined and an appropriate decision will be taken soon,” they added.

The Delhi Government on Wednesday recommended rejection of the mercy plea filed by Singh in the 2012 gangrape and murder case and forwarded it to the L-G.

Meanwhile on Thursday, all the four death-row convicts were shifted to Tihar prison complex’s jail number 3 where their hanging is set to take place, a jail official said.

Nirbhaya’s father on Thursday said, “We have not lost hope. There is no law for the victim’s family but there are legal remedies available to the convicts, which is why the problems are arising,” he said.

However, he added, “Justice is not far and their (convicts) hanging is not far. They should prepare themselves for the hanging. They might delay it, but it will happen.”