And now, Nirbhay case convict Mukesh Singh challenges President in SC
28 Jan 2020
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In what could amount to a mockery of the judicial process, advocate for Mukesh Kumar Singh, the man who has been convicted in the gang rape and murder of Nirbhaya and is awaiting the hangman’s noose, has moved a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the rejection of his mercy plea by the President.
The Supreme Court has set today (Tuesday) as the date for an urgent hearing on the petition as sought by the convict’s counsel, Vrinda Grover, ahead of the 1 February date fixed for his hanging.
A bench headed by CJI S A Bobde said any petition filed by a death row prisoner would be given top priority for hearing.
"If somebody is going to be hanged then nothing can be more urgent than this,” the bench said, and asked Mukesh's counsel to approach the mentioning officer as the hanging is scheduled on 1 February.
The petition is scheduled for hearing at 12.30 pm on Tuesday before a bench of Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna.
The petitioner alleged that his mercy plea was decided post-haste and the President did it without proper application of mind. The SC had recently rejected the last of the curative petitions, filed by Pawan Kumar, on 20 January.
President Ram Nath Kovind on January 17 dismissed the 32-year-old Singh's mercy plea and the warrant for execution of death sentence for the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case has been fixed for 6 am on February.
The warrant for execution of death sentence for the four convicts in the case has been fixed on February 1 at 6 am.
Singh had moved the mercy petition after the Supreme Court had dismissed his curative petition against his conviction and death sentence.
.webp)
