Nirbhaya Case: Mercy Plea Rejected By President Ram Nath Kovind

The mercy petition filed by Mukesh Singh, one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya case has been rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind. The decision has now been communicated to the Union Home Ministry. The Ministry of Home Affairs forwarded the plea on Friday, PTI reported.

President Ram Nath Kovind rejects mercy plea of Nirbhaya convict Mukesh Singh: sources

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 17, 2020

Key Takeaways

• President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy petition filed by Mukesh Singh, one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya Case.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs had forwarded the mercy plea to President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday.
• The ministry had reiterated the recommendation of Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for its rejection.
• Nirbhaya's mother has appealed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hang the convicts on January 22, saying, " You came to power in 2014, promising safety of women. So please hang them on January 22."

Also Read: Narendra Modi Government And Women - What's done, What lies ahead

After the mercy plea is rejected, a convict has to be given a notice of 14 days, prior to the execution. Mercy petition is the last legal recourse before the execution of the convicts.

Delhi Government Recommended Rejection Of Plea

The Delhi Government had recommended the rejection of the plea. The Delhi LG then forwarded this plea to the Ministry of Home Affairs which in turn, had forwarded the plea to the President. The MHA had reiterated Delhi Government's recommendation of rejection of plea. President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the plea on Friday, a few hours after the plea was forwarded to him.

Also Read: Dear Parents, The Burden Of Your Unfulfilled Dreams Is Stifling Your Kids

Nirbhaya's mother has appealed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hang the convicts on January 22, saying, " You came to power in 2014, promising safety of women. So please hang them on January 22,"  In an interview with ANI, Asha Devi has slammed both BJP and AAP for blaming each other over the delay in the hanging of the four convicts, Mukesh Singh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25). "Till now, I never talked about politics, I have only asked for justice with folded hands. But now I want to say that those people who protested on the streets with the tricolor and black flags in 2012, today they are playing with my daughter's death for political gains," Nirbhaya's mother said.

#WATCH Asha Devi, mother of 2012 Delhi gang-rape victim: Till now, I never talked about politics, but now I want to say that those people who held protests on streets in 2012, today the same people are only playing with my daughter's death for political gains. pic.twitter.com/FvaC89TwKI

— ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2020

Also Read: Girls And The Education Sector In 2019: A Round Up

History Of The Case

The gangrape and murder case of 23-year-old paramedic Jyoti Singh Pandey aka Nirbhaya on December 12, 2012, created ripples around the globe. It not only led to judicial changes, but also promulgated dialogue around women’s safety and gender sensitization across the country. In this case, a total of six persons were convicted – Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh, Ram Singh and one juvenile person. Of these Ram Singh committed suicide inside Tihar Jail in 2013, the juvenile person walked free in 2016 after finishing three years in a correction home. The SC upheld the verdict of the death sentence for the rest of the convicts in 2018.

Picture Credit- Zee News

Also Read: Nirbhaya Case: SC Bench Dismisses Curative Plea Of Two Convicts