New Delhi, Jan. 29 (IANS): With three days remaining in the scheduled execution of death penalties in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case, the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed convict Mukesh Singh's plea seeking judicial review of the rejection of his mercy petition by the President.
With this decision by the top court, Mukesh has exhausted the last legal remedy available to him against the death sentence.
A bench comprising Justices R. Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and A.S. Bopanna said that all the relevant documents connected with the case were placed before the President and then a decision was taken on his mercy petition.
The court observed that the alleged ill-treatment and cruelty in jail is no ground to grant mercy to the convict. Also, Mukesh's counsel's contention that there was non-application of mind while rejecting his mercy petition was rejected by the court.
"President has acted expeditiously is no ground to hold that there was non-application of mind," said the court.
Pawan Jallad, the executioner chosen by the Tihar Jail administration to hang the four Nirbhaya gang-rape convicts, will reach Tihar Jail on Thursday. However, if there are no further hurdles in the legal process, then all four convicts would hang to death on February 1.
On Tuesday, relatives of the four death row convicts -- Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31), visited them in Tihar, sources said.
Ever since the death warrant was issued to them, the only question for the Tihar jail administration is -- who will hang Nirbhaya's killers? The Uttar Pradesh Directorate General of Prisons has now put the seal on this by finally naming hangman Pawan Jallad from Meerut to carry out the execution.
Talking to IANS on Tuesday night, Tihar Jail Director General Sandeep Goyal said: "On Thursday morning Pawan (executioner) will be brought to Tihar Jail from Meerut amid tight security. However, it is certain that Pawan will be transported to the hanging house in Tihar Jail as soon as he reaches Delhi."
On Thursday, Tihar Jail will make arrangements to bring Pawan executioner from Meerut. But, Director-General refused to give more details citing security reasons.
Sources on the other hand, however, said that at least 15 to 20 armed policemen (Delhi Police Third Corps personnel) will provide security to Pawan in the highly secured jail-van of Tihar Jail.
The jail administration has also decided by which road Pawan Jallad will be brought to Delhi from Meerut. But this is likely to change. The Delhi Police Third Corps along with the personnel engaged in the security of Tihar may also be sent to bring Pawan Jallad to Delhi, sources said.