Death penalty of Nirbhaya case convict Akshay upholded by Supreme Court

December 18: The Supreme Court has rejected the review plea of Nirbhaya gangrape and murder convict Akshay Kumar Singh who had moved court seeking commutation of his sentence. A three-judge bench headed by Justice R Banumathi said there are no ground to review the 2017 verdict and the contentions raised by convict Akshay Kumar Singh were already considered by the top court in the main judgement.

Arguing against the death sentence given to Akshay, his counsel referred to other countries doing away with the death penalty. Tushar Mehta opposed the contention saying as long as it remains in statute books, it is the law. He also said that convicts in the Nirbhaya case are making concerted efforts to “delay the inevitable” and the law must take its own course as soon as possible.

As soon as the bench pronounced the verdict, advocate A P Singh, appearing for convict Akshay, sought three weeks time to file mercy petition before the President. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, told the bench that one week time is prescribed under the law for filing mercy petition. The Supreme Court has allowed for the same.

Reacting to the verdict, Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi called it a “step closer to justice”.

Five men and one juvenile were convicted in the Nirbhaya case. While the five men — Ram Singh, Mukesh Pawan Gupta, Akshay Kumar Singh, and Vinay Sharma – were put on death row, the minor was tried under the Juvenile Justice Act, and given the maximum sentence of three years at a correction facility. The main accused, Ram Singh, died in Tihar Jail in Delhi in 2013, allegedly by suicide.