Nirbhaya Case: Do the Culprits Still Have Any Option?

New Delhi : The time has been fixed for the hanging of four culprits of Nirbhaya on Friday, March 20 at 5.30 am in the morning. But the question is, will they still escape as they had in past on January 22, February 1 or March 3? So the answer is that this time the executioner may not have to go empty handed from Tihar. Because this is the first time when the lifeline of all the four criminals is over.

Advocate of Nirbhaya’s criminals AP Singh says that he will tell further what legal remedies are left in this case. This one line of Nirbhaya culprits’ lawyer again makes their hanging unfortunate. We all know that the death of these four is sure. But every time, before their hanging, their lawyer AP Singh throws legal punches and the hanging is stayed.

Death warrant issued for the fourth time
For the fourth time, the death warrant has been issued for four culprits of Nirbhaya. The new date of hanging has been fixed for the fourth time, that is, 20 March, Friday at 5.30 in the morning. The fourth death warrant was also issued by the same Patiala House Court which had earlier stayed the three dates of hanging on January 22, February 1 and March 3.

Nirbhaya’s lawyer says that this time it will prove to be the last death warrant. Well, from the perspective of law, it seems that these four will not be able to survive this time. The last date of his life will be at 5:30 in the morning of March 20.

The only lifeline left of Pawan is to challenge the mercy petition rejected by the President in the Supreme Court. Pawan’s mercy petition was rejected by the President on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Patiala House Court issued a new death warrant. But Pawan has not yet challenged the rejected mercy petition in the Supreme Court. He will challenge it in the Supreme Court before March 20 to avoid death.

But the manner in which the Supreme Court rejected the pleas of Pawan’s all three companions challenging the President’s decision, it is clear that the fate of Pawan’s petition will be the same. That is, he has no hope of getting any relief from the Supreme Court. In such a situation, the way of hanging of Pawan will be cleared as soon as the petition is dismissed.

But now there is a question here. The question is whether the date of dismissal of the petition challenging the dismissal of the mercy petition will be considered as the last date or the date of the mercy petition rejected by the President will be considered as the last date. This question is important because according to a 2014 ruling of the Supreme Court, after the death warrant is issued, the person sentenced to death must be granted at least 14 days before hanging.

Now, if the date of mercy petition rejected by the President is to be considered as the last date, then the way of hanging of March 20 is clear. Because the President has rejected Pawan’s mercy petition on 4 March. While the Patiala House Court has issued a death warrant on March 5. According to both, he has been granted more than 14 days. That is, in such a case, the death warrant can be served easily.

But if the date of dismissal of the petition challenging the mercy petition in the Supreme Court is considered as the last date, then hanging might not be done on 20 March. Because Pawan has not yet challenged the dismissed mercy petition in the Supreme Court, when will he challenge it is also not clear yet. Now, in such a situation, suppose that if he goes to the Supreme Court on 10 March and his petition is dismissed on 10 March itself, then according to this, he will get 14 days more. That is, the hanging of March 20 will be postponed again.

What will be the last date
However some law experts say that the 14-day count will start from the day the President rejects the mercy petition. The date of challenging the mercy petition in the Supreme Court has no effect on the death warrant. If this is true, then 20 March can be considered the last date for hanging.