New Delhi, A court here on Tuesday, while issuing death warrants for the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, observed that the four didn’t exercise their legal remedies “despite being afforded sufficient time and opportunity”.
Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora said: “It is apparent from the record, sufficient time and opportunity was given to the convicts to exercise and exhaust their remedies as available to them under the law. Either the remedies have been exercised and exhausted by the respondents or have not been resorted to despite afforded sufficient time and opportunity.”
“In these given facts and circumstances when reasonable time and opportunity has been afforded to the convicts to exercise their remedies, there is nothing to delay any further in passing orders on the application seeking issuance of death warrants,” the court said.
As the court was hearing the application filed by Nirbhaya’s parents seeking to expedite the execution of the convicts in the case, the prosecution argued that no application is pending before any court or the President right now by any of the convicts.
“The review petition of all convicts are dismissed. In between issuance and execution of death warrants of the convicts want to file curative petitions, they can do so,” the public prosecutor said.
“They can avail their pending legal remedies after issuance of death warrant also,” said advocate Jitendra Jha who was representing the parents of the victim.
The amicus curiae and the counsel of the convicts however, pressed that certain legal remedies are still available with the convicts.
However, after concluding the arguments, the judge issued the death warrants and ordered for their execution, but, granted them 14 days time to exercise their remedies.
The 23-year-old woman was gangraped and tortured on December 16, 2012, which 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 confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014 and upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2017, which also dismissed their review petitions.
