Four men convicted of gangraping a Delhi physiotherapy intern, Nirbhaya, in December 2012 will hang at 5.30 am on March 20, a Delhi court ruled on Thursday. Their execution has already been deferred three times.
The most recent date set for their hanging was March 3, but one of them, Pawan Gupta, filed a mercy plea the day before. And like the three other convicts' mercy petitions, his was rejected.
The Delhi government then asked for a fresh date for the convicts' execution, saying all their legal remedies had been exhaused.
The lawyer for the convicts, AP Singh, argued that orders shouldn't be passed today. He asked the court for time to ask Pawan Gupta whether he wanted to move the Supreme Court to challenge the President's decision to reject his plea.
Speaking to reporters later, he decried what he called a "judicial killing".
Meanwhile, Nirbhaya's mother, Asha Devi, said she hoped March 20 would be the final execution date.
Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Mukesh Singh were among six men who gangraped Nirbhaya, 23, in December 2012 in display of unhinged brutality that brought furious Indians out on the streets. The victim soon died of her injuries.
One of the rapists killed himself in jail and another, a juvenile, was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term.
