4 convicts break down after death warrant; Nirbhaya’s parents satisfied with justice
The rapists and killers of 23-year-old paramedic Nirbhaya will be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Jail number 3 in Tihar. Three of the convicts are lodged in Jail number 2, while one is in Jail number 4, the official said. The much awaited verdict was delivered on Tuesday by the trial court as the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) issued the death warrant against the convicts on the death row.
The issuance of the death warrant against the four convicts Mukesh Singh, (32), Pawan Gupta, (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) evoked emotional response from Nirbhaya’s parents who have been waiting for the last seven years to see justice for their daughter.
As soon as the judge signed the death warrant, all the four convicts broke down in jail.
However, the process of executing them could be delayed as the convicts have 14 days to use their final legal options. “They will be kept in separate cells in solitary confinement and will be allowed one last meeting with their families,” said a jail official.
Nirbhaya’a mother Asha Devi and her father, who have waged a relentless battle to see that the rapists and murderers of her daughter are punished, appeared satisfied after the judge reading the final verdict on the brutal gangrape that had outraged the country.
“This judgment will reinforce people’s faith in the judiciary and empower women. My daughter will get justice,” said Nirbhaya’s mother.
Nirbhaya, who was pursuing Bachelor of Physiotherapy and was named as “Nirbhaya (fearless)”, had died 13 days after she was brutally gangraped on a moving bus by six men, including a juvenile who is now free.
She was subjected to the most inhuman torture with her rapists inserting iron rod in her private parts and then throwing Nirbhaya and her male friend on the road from the moving bus. She and her friend had boarded the bus from South Delhi after a watching movie.
She was found naked and bleeding on the chilly night of December 16, 2012. She died on December 29, 2012, at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.
The sheer brutality inflicted on her by the rapists had created ripples across the country and became a turning point for laws to ensure safety of women. Then Manmoahn Singh-led Union Government had set up a commission headed by former Chief Justice of India JS Verma, who suggested many changes in the laws.
Just before the death warrant, the mother of convict Mukesh had walked up to Nirbhaya’s mother and pleaded with her. “I appeal to you to forgive my son. I am begging for his life,” she said, holding her sari before her in a gesture of begging. “I had a daughter too. How can I forget what happened with her? I have been waiting for justice for seven years,” Nirbhaya’s mother responded.
During the hearing, the prosecution said there was no application pending before any court or the President right now by any of the convicts and the review petition of all the convicts was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
On July 9 last year, the apex court had dismissed the review pleas filed by the other three convicts in the case, saying no grounds have been made out by them for review of the 2017 verdict.
While urging the court to issue the death warrants, the prosecution said, “In between the issuance and the execution of death warrants, if the convicts want to file curative petitions, they can do so.”
The counsel for two of the convicts - Mukesh and Vinay - said they were in the process of filing curative petition in the Supreme Court.
When the hearing commenced, advocate ML Sharma appeared before the court and said he is representing Mukesh.
However, amicus curiae Vrinda Grover, who on the last date was appointed by the court to represent Mukesh, said Sharma had no authority to represent him.
The court heard the arguments from both of them and directed Sharma to produce Vakalatnama (document empowering lawyer) showing that Mukesh authorised him.
After the court reserved the order for 3.30 pm on issuance of death warrants, Mukesh’s mother entered the court room crying and urged the court to show mercy.
The court refused to entertain her. Talking to media persons outside the courtroom, she said her son was framed because he is poor. The court interacted with all the convicts through video conferencing from Tihar jail. The media was not allowed inside the video conferencing room.
After the court passed the order, the lawyers and family members of the convicts came out and informed the media about court’s order.
It may be noted that the trial court had earlier directed Tihar jail authorities to seek within a week response from the four death row convicts as to whether they were filing mercy pleas against their executions with the President of India.
It was hearing the applications moved by Nirbhaya’s parents and the prosecution (Delhi Government) seeking issuance of death warrant against the convict.
The Supreme Court on December 18 had dismissed the plea of Akshay seeking review of its decision, saying review petition is not “re-hearing of appeal over and over again” and it had already considered the mitigating and aggravating circumstances while upholding the death penalty.
One of the six accused in the case, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail here. A juvenile, who was among the accused, was convicted by a juvenile justice board and was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term.
The top court in its 2017 verdict had upheld the capital punishment awarded to them by the Delhi High Court and the trial court.