Centre moves SC to amend rules to do away with delaying tactics
In the wake of delaying tactics adopted by the death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, Union Home Ministry on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court for amending the 2014 guidelines regarding the timeline for the execution, filing of review and curative petitions and mercy petitions.
Asserting that the need of the hour is to lay down guidelines in the interest of the victims rather than keeping the rights of the convicts in mind, the Centre wants the SC to fix a deadline of seven days for the execution of death penalty of condemned prisoners after issuance of the death warrant.
The affidavit filed by the Government also sought clarifications with regard to cases involving multiple convicts who time their petitions in such a way that the execution of the death warrant could be delayed indefinitely. The Nirbhaya case is perfect example of such delaying tactics.
The MHA’s plea sought a direction from the top court in fixing the deadline for filing of curative pleas after the rejection of review petitions.
It also sought a direction that “if the convict of death sentence wants to file mercy petition, it would be mandatory for a convict of death sentence to do so only within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of death warrant issued by the competent court”.
The MHA submitted that the top court should “mandate all the competent courts, State Governments, prison authorities in the country to issue death warrant of a convict within seven days of the rejection of his mercy petition and to execute death sentence within seven days thereafter irrespective of the stage of review petition/curative petition/mercy petition of his co-convicts”.
The top court, on January 20, had rejected the plea of a death row convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case challenging the Delhi High Court order which had dismissed his claim of being a juvenile at the time of offence saying he cannot re-agitate the issue by filing fresh application.
A Delhi court has recently issued fresh death warrants for February 1 against the four convicts -- Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31), Mukesh Kumar Singh (32) and Pawan (26) -- in the case after their hanging got delayed from January 22 due to pending petitions.
The 23-year-old paramedic student, referred to as Nirbhaya, was gang-raped and brutally assaulted on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012, in a moving bus in south Delhi by six people before she was thrown out on the road.
In an application, the MHA sought a direction “to mandate all competent courts, State Governments, prison authorities in country to issue death warrant of a convict within seven days of rejection of his mercy petition and to execute death sentence within 7 days thereafter irrespective of the stage of review petition/curative petition/mercy petition of his co-convicts.”
The MHA said the country is facing a menace of certain offences relating to terrorism, rape and murder which are punishable with death sentence.
“It is submitted that the offence of rape is not only a criminal offence defined in the penal code of the country but is the most horrific and unpardonable offence in any civilized society. The offence of rape is not only an offence against an individual and society but is an offence against humanity.
“There are various instances of such heinous and horrific offences of rape accompanied by an equally horrible and horrific offence of murder of the victim which shakes the collective conscience of the nation,” the MHA said.
The Government said in the larger interest of public and of the victims, their families, the earlier guidelines should be modified to ensure that the accused of such “horrible, dreadful, cruel, abominable, ghastly, gruesome and heinous offences” be not permitted to play with the “majesty of law and prolong the execution of the sentence awarded to them in accordance with the law”.
The MHA, in its plea filed through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, urged the court to fix a time limit within which the convict of death sentence should file curative petition, if he so chooses to do so.
“In case of multiple convicts of such horrific crimes who are awaiting death sentence, mandating the issuance of warrant by competent court within seven days of rejection of mercy petition and execution of death sentence within seven days thereafter irrespective of the proceeding, if any, taken by his co-convicts,” it said.
The Ministry said under the scheme of criminal justice system, a full proof regime is being providing to accused at various stages of judicial scrutiny to ensure that an accused is punished strictly in accordance with law and convicts be not allowed to misuse the judicial processes.
“When a death sentence is awarded to an accused after the judicial scrutiny, the procedure established by law ensures that the said decision is mandatorily tested by the highest court of the State namely the High Court,” it said.
