Chennai: In what is being called "delaying tactics", the convicts in the Nirbahaya rape case have been filing mercy petitions to the president one by one, ever since the death warrant was given. The day turned out to be dramatic, with the President of India rejecting the mercy petition of one convict only to be given another mercy petition, filed by the next convict, citing the same reasons that were rejected.
The internet is up in the arms and Solicitor General Mehta stated that the case would go down in history "as the most heinous crime where the accused is taking the process of law for a joy ride." Nirbhaya's mother broke down on national television, deploring her helplessness, professing outrage and recounting how he opposition lawyer challenged her saying, "there will be no hangings." The mercy petition filed by Vinay Sharma was rejected by Ram Nath Kovind earlier in the day. However, on the same day, the next accused, Akshay Singh file the third petition.
In December 2019, Mukesh Singh's mercy petition was rejected by the president. When he rejects Akshay Singh's petition, one may expect the last convict - Pawan Gupta - can still file a mercy petition, delaying the process further. The Supreme Court had earlier this week rejected Pawan Gupta's claim of being a minor at the time of the attack; this was the second time the same petition had been filed in two weeks. Nirbhaya's mother, who has been fighting the case since 2012, broke down, stating that defense lawyer AP Singh had challenged her saying, "the hangings will never happen". "These men have rights, India's daughter doesn't. The convicts' lawyer challenged me that there won't be any hanging," said Asha Devi to the media.
All women come together show solidarity and show that this sister is not alone#nirbhayabetrayed pic.twitter.com/uztxlDhgf4
— सिद्धार्थ गुप्ता (@mdbsid) January 31, 2020
According to the legalise, there is a little truth in the accusation that the convicts were looking to buy time. Even though they committed the crime together and have been given the same ruling, each accused will submit the mercy petition separately as the president has to make a decision in this regard. According to some lawyers in the Chennai court, there are cases where the accused had filed mercy petitions after being given a death sentence and waited for years and years together, practically growing old in the process. To jog one's memory, Afsal Guru, who had been convicted and given a death sentence in 2006, was executed after his mercy petition was rejected in 2013. The latest petition rejected in the Nirbhaya case is that of Vinay Sharma, originally the third accused in the case. While the primary accused was found hanging in the prison, the youngest, who was six months short of 18 when the crime was committed, was released after three years in a reform home.