Nirbhaya: PIL in Delhi HC calls for NHRC to enquire about physical and mental conditions of four death row convicts

A writ petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking a direction to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to enquire after the physical and mental conditions of four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya rape case. .The plea has been filed as a Public Interest Litigation by Advocate A Rajarajan for the protection of the human and fundamental rights of the four death row convicts..Filed through Advocate Y William Vinod Kumar, The petition states that the need and necessity to approach the High Court can be founded from the observations made by the Delhi High Court in its Februreay 5 order which states that,.“……I have no hesitation to say that after dismissal of criminal appeals on 05.05.2017 by the Supreme Court, nobody had bothered to execute the death warrants. They waited for the reasons best know to them, till convict Mukesh filed review petition before the Supreme Court on 06.11.2017 after 186 days and the same was dismissed on 09.07.2018.”.It is alleged that the concerned authorities have acted contrary to law by not initiating the process to execute the death sentence awarded to the death convicts..The sudden initiation of execution proceedings on January 2020 in the month preceding the general elections of legislative assembly of Delhi, while legal remedies of the death convicts were exhausted halfway, is deemed to be against settled principles of law, reasonableness, prudence and further raises doubts on the intentions of the concerned authorities, states the PIL..The sudden initiation of execution proceedings is described in the petition to “have caused untold mental agony, distress to the convicts and may affected the mental stability of the convicts.”.“That further the act of keeping the convicts on solitary confinement and constant fear of death and proceeding with the execution procedures according to their whims and fancies were apparent violation of fundamental and human rights of the convicts.”the Petition reads. .It is further added in the PIL that the authorities who were entrusted with the execution of the death sentence have acted in complete violation of law by not taking any steps to initiate the execution after the expiry of one month limitation period to file review petition against the order dismissing the petition of the convicts, dated 05.05.2017 of the Supreme Court..The PIL, therefore, seeks that the High Court directs the NHRC to intervene and enquire about the physical and mental conditions of the four death convicts..It also seeks the aid and assistance of unbiased experts from relevant field to further enquire about the Human Rights violations committed by authorities against the four convicts..Recently, a Delhi Court had rejected the plea filed by one of the convicts, Vinay, seeking high level treatment for his mental illness..Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana, Patiala Courts had a issued death warrant dated February 17, according to which the execution of the four convicts is to happen on March 3, 2020 at 6 am..The Supreme Court on February 25, has however, deferred the hearing regarding the Delhi High Court order on February 5 which had held that the four convicts cannot be hanged separately. .The hearing is deferred till March 5 in the plea filed by the Central Government for the separate execution of the death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case..The PIL is likely to be heard by the High Court next week.