A Delhi court issued a fresh death warrant against the four convicts in the horrific 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case on Thursday. According to the verdict, the convicts – Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh, and Akshay Kumar – will be hanged on 20 March at 5:30 a.m. IST.
Additional sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana fixed the execution date after the Delhi government informed the court that the accused have used up all their legal rights.
Following the fresh death warrant, Asha Devi, Nirbhaya's mother, stated she hopes that this is the final date and the convicts will be hanged on 20 March.
On Wednesday, Tihar Jail authorities went before Delhi’s Patiala House Court seeking a fresh date for the execution of the death warrant after Indian President Ram Nath Kovind rejected Gupta’s mercy plea.
As per the law, the four convicts have exhausted their legal remedies and the fixed date now is going to be the final date of execution.
Six men were arrested for a crime that took place on 16 December 2012 when a girl, who became known as Nirbhaya (the fearless) was returning home with a male friend.
She was gang-raped in a moving bus and later succumbed to her injuries in a hospital. While the prime accused Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide during the trial, another perpetrator was a juvenile and was released after he served three years in a reform facility. At the time, the incident had triggered large-scale protests across the country.
