India | Nirbhaya case: Supreme Court appoints advocate to represent Pawan, reserves verdict on Vinay's mercy plea

In Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, the Supreme Court on Thursday (February 13) appointed senior advocate Anjana Prakash to represent one of the four death row convicts as he was unrepresented after dropping his earlier lawyer.

The top court also reserved its order on the issue of rejection of mercy petition of Vinay Kumar Sharma, one of the convicts in the case.

New Delhi: In Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, the Supreme Court on Thursday (February 13) appointed senior advocate Anjana Prakash to represent one of the four death row convicts as he was unrepresented after dropping his earlier lawyer. The top court also reserved its order on the issue of rejection of mercy petition of Vinay Kumar Sharma, one of the convicts in the case.

A bench of Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna appointed Prakash as amicus curiae to represent the convict, Pawan Kumar Gupta, and said, "On behalf of respondent Pawan Gupta, we requested Anjana Prakash, senior counsel, to be amicus curiae to assist the court in the case of Pawan Gupta. Anjana Prakash has graciously agreed to appear and advance arguments to assist the court in the matter of Pawan Gupta."

Prakash had earlier appeared for convict Mukesh Kumar Singh, who had challenged the rejection of his mercy plea by the President, and the plea was dismissed.

The court, however, deferred the hearing on the Centre's plea till Friday for separate execution of four convicts and asked all the condemned prisoners to file their replies by then.

The bench also took note of the trial court order passed on Wednesday in which it had asked the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to provide Pawan's father with a list of empanelled advocates to choose from to represent the convict.

Appearing for convict Mukesh, advocate Vrinda Grover said that trial court listed the matter for hearing a plea of jail authorities seeking fresh date of execution and it would be appropriate if the matter in top court is taken up on Friday.

Appearing for Centre and Delhi government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that there is no change in the status of the convicts since the last date of hearing on Tuesday as no one has moved any mercy or curative petition till now as directed by Delhi High Court.

The bench listed the matter for Friday at 2 PM for final hearing and all the convicts in the case shall file their replies to Centre's plea by then.

On Tuesday, convict Vinay Sharma had challenged the rejection of his mercy petition by the President in the apex court. The same day, the top court had sought a response from the four convicts on Centre's appeal against a Delhi High Court verdict refusing to set aside the stay on their execution.

The top court had granted liberty to authorities to obtain a fresh date for execution of the death warrants from the trial court, saying pendency of Centre's and Delhi government's appeals before it "will not be an impediment".

The trial court has stayed "till further orders" the execution of the convicts--Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Gupta (25), Sharma (26) and Akshay (31).

So far, two death warrants have stayed in the case. Pawan Kumar Gupta is the only convict in the case who has not filed a curative petition--the last legal remedy available to a person. He also has the option of filing a mercy plea against the death sentence.

Meanwhile, the top court today reserved the order on the issue of rejection of mercy petition of Vinay Kumar Sharma, one of the convicts in the case. A bench of Justice R Banumathi heard the case and reserved the order till Friday at 2 pm.

Appearing on behalf of the Delhi government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that Vinay Sharma was not kept in solitary confinement as it was argued by convict`s lawyer AP Singh in the court, adding "There is a limited scope of judicial review, as the President of India had rejected the mercy petition after SC reserved order duly considering and applying his mind."

Mehta said," The Home Minister did not do it (dispose off the matter) immediately, as the Joint Secretary and Home Secretary discussed the matter in a detailed manner. The crime committed by the convict, Vinay Kumar Sharma, fell in the rarest of the rare category and did not fall in the category of mercy."

Lawyer, AP Singh, representing Vinay, had earlier argued that the convict was kept in illegal confinement and "illegally tortured" in Tihar Jail.

Singh claimed that there has been a history of physical assaults on Vinay, who "had been sent for psychiatric treatment on many occasions. The petitioner has suffered adverse mental condition and faced immense trauma."

"Vinay should have been treated with proper medical treatment for his poor mental health," Singh said, adding that the "non-application" of mind by President of India is one ground for commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment.

On February 1, Vinay`s mercy petition was rejected by the President.

On January 31, the death sentence of four convicts Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, and Akshay Thakur were stayed by a lower court till further orders.

Currently, all four convicts are lodged in Tihar Jail.

On December 16, 2012, a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who later came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gangraped and savagely assaulted by six in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died after a fortnight.

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

The juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.

Source: zeenews.india.com, Staff, February 13, 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

China executes 11 members of gang who ran billion-dollar criminal empire in Myanmar

China has executed 11 members of the notorious Ming family criminal gang, who ran mafia-like scam centers in Myanmar and killed workers who tried to escape, Chinese state media reported on Thursday. The Ming family was one of the so-called 4 families of northern Myanmar — crime syndicates accused of running hundreds of compounds dealing in internet fraud, prostitution and drug production, and whose members held prominent positions in the local government and militia aligned with Myanmar’s ruling junta.

Iraq executes a former senior officer under Saddam for the 1980 killing of a Shiite cleric

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq announced on Monday that a high-level security officer during the rule of Saddam Hussein has been hanged for his involvement in the 1980 killing of a prominent Shiite cleric. The National Security Service said that Saadoun Sabri al-Qaisi, who held the rank of major general under Saddam and was arrested last year, was convicted of “grave crimes against humanity,” including the killing of prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr, members of the al-Hakim family, and other civilians.

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.

Florida | Man convicted of leaving girl to be eaten by gators avoids death penalty

After about 4 hours of deliberations, jurors on Friday recommended Harrel Braddy should be sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 killing of 5-year-old Quantisha Maycock. A South Florida man who dropped off a 5-year-old child in the Everglades to be eaten alive by gators nearly 3 decades ago was given a second chance at life as jurors recommended he should spend the rest of his life behind bars instead of being sent to death row. After about four hours of deliberations, jurors on Friday recommended Harrel Braddy should be sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 killing of 5-year-old Quantisha Maycock.

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.

Federal Judge Rules Out Death Penalty for Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealth CEO Killing

NEW YORK — A federal judge has dismissed two charges against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, effectively removing the possibility of the death penalty in the high-profile case. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled Friday that the murder charge through use of a firearm — the only count that could have carried a capital sentence — was legally incompatible with the remaining interstate stalking charges against Mangione.

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.

Florida's second execution of 2026 scheduled for February

Florida’s second execution of 2026, a man convicted of killing a grocery story owner, will take place in February. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant Jan. 23 for Melvin Trotter, 65, to die by lethal injection Feb. 24. Florida's first execution will take place just a few weeks earlier when Ronald Palmer Heath is set to die Feb. 10. Trotter was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1987 for strangling and stabbing Virgie Langford a year earlier in Palmetto.

China executes another four members of powerful Myanmar-based crime family

China has executed another four members of a powerful Myanmar-based crime family that oversaw 41 pig butchering scam* compounds across Southeast Asia. The executed individuals were members of the Bai family, a particularly powerful gang that ruled the Laukkai district and helped transform it into a hub for casinos, trafficking, scam compounds, and prostitution. China’s Supreme People’s Court approved the executions after 21 members were charged with homicide, kidnapping, extortion, operating a fraudulent casino, organizing illegal border crossings, and forced prostitution. The court said the Bai family made over $4 billion across its enterprise and killed six Chinese citizens.

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.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog