Centre approaches SC for 'victim-centric' rules in death penalty cases
New Delhi/IBNS: Amid anger over the delay in the Nirbhaya convicts' hanging, the Centre on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court for "victim-centric" guidelines in cases of death penalties and demanded a time-limit for convicts to use their last available legal option.
According to the Centre, the present laws are lenient towards the convicts and as a result, they employ the same "to play with the law and delay execution."
The Centre in its petition asked for a modification in a past Supreme Court judgment on the rights of death row convicts.
It stated that there should be a time limit for a curative petition after the apex court rejects all previous pleas.
The government wants the court to direct that a death row convict can only file a mercy plea within seven days of receiving the death warrant.
Though the Supreme Court had issued a death warrant for all four convicts in the Nirbhaya case, the death penalty got delayed over the mercy pleas.
The date for the death penalty was fixed on Feb 22 but due to the mercy plea of one of the convicts, Mukesh, the day of execution got delayed.
A Delhi court last Friday issued fresh death warrants for the Nirbhaya gangrape convicts, Mukesh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar Singh and Pawan Gupta, who are scheduled to be executed at 7 am on Feb 1.
President Ram Nath Kovind had on Jan 16 rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh.
On Dec 16, 2012, Nirbhaya, who was a 23-year female physiotherapy intern, was gang-raped, assaulted and tortured at a private bus in Delhi when she was travelling with her friend.
She was raped by six people including the driver of the bus.
The victim had succumbed to her injuries 13 days after the horrific crime was committed.
The incident had sparked national and international outrage. Both the state and central government were brought under the scanner for not providing adequate protection to women in the national capital.
Image Credit: IBNS File
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