Skip to main content

India | SC rejects Nirbhaya convict's plea on stay on death penalty

NEW DELHI:With just two days remaining for the execution of the convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the curative petition of Akshay, one of the convicts in the case, seeking a stay on the death sentence.

A five-judge bench headed by Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Arun Mishra, R.F. Nariman, R. Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan, considered Akshay's petition in-chambers.

"The application for oral hearing is rejected. The application for stay on the execution of death sentence is also rejected," said the top court.

Earlier, the apex court had dismissed the curative petitions of the other convicts Mukesh and Vinay.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday had 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.

Mukesh' counsel had submitted that there was non-application of mind in rejection of the petitioner's mercy petition, as it was rejected with lightning speed.

Source: punjabnewsexpress.com, IANS, January 30, 2020


After Supreme Court dismisses curative petition, I hope convicts are hanged on February 1: Nirbhaya's mother


The dismissal of the curative petition of Akshay Thakur by the Supreme Court has brought the convicts closer to their execution and now without any delay, they should be hanged on February 1, said Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi on Thursday.

"They have moved a step forward towards their execution. Now, nothing is left to provide them as they were given all the time. All that is left is to hang them. Now, they should be hanged without any delay," Devi told ANI.

"It's not only me but everyone has understood that they are trying to delay the execution. They have made a mockery of the system. I still hope that they will be hanged on February 1 and will continue with the fight," she added.

Expressing happiness over the Supreme Court's decision, Nirbhaya's father Badrinath Singh said, "I welcome the decision of the top court. There is, of course, a delay in the process but we are not disappointed. We hope they will be hanged soon."

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court dismissed the curative petition of Akshay Thakur, who had sought the commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment.

A five-judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice NV Ramana heard the matter.

The curative petition, which was filed by advocate AP Singh on behalf of Akshay, sought the commutation of the sentence of the petitioner "as it serves all the purposes that the death penalty claims to serve and protects society from the impending reality in the near-future in which torture and murder are equated with justice as a panacea for all social evils." 

Source: ANI, Staff, January 30, 2020


⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.


Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!



"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Most viewed (Last 7 days)

The US reporter who has witnessed 14 executions: ‘People need to know what it looks like’

South Carolina-based journalist Jeffrey Collins observed back-to-back executions in 2025 after the state revived the death penalty following a 13-year pause Jeffrey Collins has watched 14 men draw their final breaths. Over 25 years at the Associated Press, the South Carolina-based journalist has repeatedly served as an observer inside the state’s execution chamber, watching from feet away as prison officials kill men who were sentenced to capital punishment. South Carolina has recently kept him unusually busy, with seven back-to-back executions in 14 months.

Georgia parole board suspends scheduled execution of Cobb County death row prisoner

The execution of a Georgia man scheduled for Wednesday has been suspended as the State Board of Pardons and Paroles considers a clemency application.  Stacey Humphreys, 52, would have been the state's first execution in 2025. As of December 16, 2025, Georgia has carried out zero executions in 2025. The state last executed an inmate in January 2020, followed by a pause due to COVID-19. Executions resumed in 2024, but none have occurred this year until now. Humphreys had been sentenced to death for the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown, who were fatally shot at the real estate office where they worked.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester.  Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

California | Convicted killer Scott Peterson keeps swinging in court — but expert says he’s not going anywhere but his cell

More than two decades after Laci Peterson vanished from her Modesto, California, home, the murder case that captivated the nation continues to draw legal challenges, public debate and renewed attention. As the year comes to a close, Scott Peterson, convicted in 2004 of murdering his pregnant wife and their unborn son Conner, remains behind bars, serving life without the possibility of parole. His wife disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002, and a few months later, the remains of Laci and Conner were found in the San Francisco Bay.

M Ravi, the man who defied Singapore regime's harassment, dies

M Ravi never gave up despite the odds stacked against him by the Singapore regime, which has always used its grip on the legal process to silence critics. M Ravi, one of Singapore's best-known personalities who was at the forefront of legal cases challenging the PAP regime over human rights violations, has died. He was 56. The news has come as a shock to friends and activists. Singapore's The Straits Times reported that police were investigating the "unnatural death".

Saudi Arabia executed 356 people in 2025, highest number on record

Analysts attribute increase to kingdom’s ‘war on drugs’ as authorities kill 356 people by death penalty Saudi authorities executed 356 people in 2025, setting a new record for the number of inmates put to death in the kingdom in a single year. Analysts have largely attributed the increase in executions to Riyadh’s “war on drugs”, with some of those arrested in previous years only now being executed after legal proceedings and convictions. Official data released by the Saudi government said 243 people were executed in drug-related cases in 2025 alone, according to a tally kept by Agence France-Presse.

Singapore | Prolific lawyer M Ravi, known for drug death-penalty cases, found dead

Ravi Madasamy, a high-profile lawyer who represented death-row inmates and campaigned against capital punishment, was found dead in the early hours, prompting a police investigation into an unnatural death KUALA LUMPUR — Prolific Singapore lawyer Ravi Madasamy who tried to save Malaysian drug traffickers from the gallows found dead in the early hours with police investigating a case of unnatural death. Lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam, who had previously represented 56-year-old Ravi in court and described him as a friend, said he was deeply saddened by the news.

USA | Justice Department Encourages New Capital Charges Against Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners

On Dec. 23, 2024, former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. commuted the sentences of nearly all federal death row prisoners, sparing 37 men from execution. Just 28 days later, on Jan. 20, 2025, newly inaugurated President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order encouraging state and local prosecutors to pursue new charges against those same prisoners, reopening the possibility of capital punishment in state courts.

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

Iran | Executions in Shiraz, Borazjan, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Ardabil, Rasht, Ghaemshahr, Neishabur

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); December 23, 2025: Mahin Rashidi, Abbas Alami, Naser Faraji, Tohid Barzegar and Jamshid Amirfazli, five co-defendants on death row for drug-related offences, were secretly executed in a group hanging in Shiraz Central Prison.  According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, four men and a woman were hanged in Shiraz (Adel Abad) Central Prison on 17 December 2025. Their identities have been established as Mahin Rashidi, a 39-year-old woman, Abbas Alami, 43, Naser Faraji, 38, Tohid Barzegar, 51, and Jamshid Amirfazli, 45, all Kashan natives.