New Delhi: Appeal for law on separate hanging

New Delhi: The Centre and Delhi government on Friday urged the Supreme Court to lay down a law to separately hang death row convicts who are convicted for the same crime so that they may not by a “calculated design” delay the execution of sentence.

Taking the court through the dates of the Nirbhaya case to contend that the four convicts in a “calculated” manner were  delaying the execution of sentence, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, “Nation’s patience has been tested enough now … as death convicts are not exhausting their legal remedies and adopting delaying tactics.”

The Solicitor-General placed before the court a chart with dates showing the way in which four convicts have taken steps to exhaust their legal remedies including mercy petitions with Pawan Kumar Gupta yet to file a curative petition and the mercy petition and contributing to delay in the execution of sentence.

As Mr Mehta proceeded with his submissions, the top court bench comprising Justice R. Banumathi, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A.S.Bopanna said that they would like to hear the SG on merits of the case and posted the matter for further hearing on February 11, 2020.

Solicitor General Mehta urged the court to issue notices to the four convicts in Nirbhaya case as it would be required. The bench said that it would first like to hear the SG on merits.

While Justice Bhushan said that the death row convicts could not be “compelled to exhaust all their legal remedies”, Justice Banumathi said that the High Court has given the four convicts 7-days time to exhaust their legal remedies and time is still there. Justice Bhushan said one does not know the situation that would emerge after seven days.

The HC in its February 5 judgment had held that all the four death row convicts in Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case will be executed together and not individually.