2012 Delhi gangrape case: Court issues fresh death warrant, four convicts to be hanged at 6 am on 3 March

A Delhi court on Monday issued fresh death warrants for the execution of the four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape  and murder case. The convicts —Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31)— will now be hanged at 6 am on 3 March. [caption id=“attachment_3425280” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The four death row convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case. PTI[/caption] The order was issued by Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana while hearing the applications by the victim’s parents and the Delhi government, seeking fresh death warrants for the four convicts after the Supreme Court granted liberty to the authorities to approach the trial court for issuance of fresh date for the execution of these convicts. The date of execution was earlier first fixed for 22 January but was postponed for 6 am on 1 February by a trial court 17 January. The trial court later, on 31 January , stayed, “till further orders” the execution of the four convicts in the case, who are lodged in Tihar Jail The court also discharged advocate Vrinda Grover as the counsel for convict Vinay Singh after he expressed his wish to engage another counsel and appointed advocate Ravi Qazi to represent Mukesh. The court was also informed that another death row convict, Vinay Sharma, is on hunger strike in Tihar jail. Sharma was assaulted in jail and has head injuries, his lawyer told the court, adding that he was suffering from acute mental illness and hence the death sentence cannot be carried out. The court directed the Tihar jail superintendent to take appropriate care of Sharma as per law. Another convict Pawan Gupta’s counsel told the court that he wanted to move a curative petition before the Supreme Court and the mercy plea against the death sentence before the President. Gupta is the only one among the four convicts who has not yet filed the curative petition — the last legal remedy available to a person, which is decided in-chamber. He also has the option of filing a mercy plea. With inputs form PTI