Nirbhaya case: Supreme court reserves verdict on convicts' execution

The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its order which will be passed at 2 pm on the review petition filed by Pawan against the Supreme Court's decision to dismiss his claim of being a juvenile when the crime was committed. The plea also demanded to cancel the death warrant issued. 

This petition demands the top court to reconsider its January 20 decision in which it had rejected Pawan's plea. Also, Pawan is yet to file a curative petition in the top court.

According to Delhi Prison Rules, none of the four convicts in the same case can be hanged before the last one has exhausted all legal options including the mercy plea. The apex court guidelines also stipulate that convicts cannot be hanged until 14 days after their mercy plea has been rejected by the President.

Recently, Vinay Kumar Sharma has filed a mercy petition in the matter, while Mukesh Kumar too had filed a mercy petition, which was rejected by the President. He later challenged the rejection of his mercy petition in the Supreme Court but failed to get any respite. 

On the night of December 16, 2012, six people including a juvenile had gang-raped and brutalised a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus in Delhi. The woman had died at a Singapore hospital a few days later.

One of the five adults accused, Ram Singh, had allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail.