New Delhi: As the court battle over the hanging of four Nirbhaya case convicts continues, the mother of the victim, gang-raped and assaulted in December 2012 causing her death few days later, here on Thursday, expressed disappointment over the delay.
“How long should I remain patient? Everyday, I come to the court with new hope, only to go back disappointed,” Nirbhaya’s mother Asha Devi told a sessions court, after the plea for issuance of fresh death warrants against the four convicts was adjourned.
Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana adjourned the case till February 17 as the Supreme Court is set to pronounce judgment on February 14 on convict Vinay Sharma’s petition against rejection of his mercy plea.
“Article 21 of the Constitution protects the life and liberty of condemned convicts till their last breath. A convict is entitled to exhaust all legal remedies and the court can’t afford to ignore their fundamental rights,” the judge observed.
The court also allowed Ravi Kazi, new counsel representing death-row convict Pawan, to study the matter after his earlier lawyer A.P. Singh refused to represent him.
“Kazi is entitled to some time for effective representation of Pawan so that the legal aid provided to him doesn’t become an illusionary or superficial exercise,” the court said.
Of the four convicts, Pawan has not yet availed of the remedy of either curative or mercy petition.
