Supreme Court to hear Centre's plea for separate hanging of Nirbhaya convicts on March 23

The Supreme Court today deferred till March 23 the hearing in the Centre's appeal against the Delhi High Court judgment which held that the Nirbhaya convicts cannot be hanged separately..The three-judge Bench of Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna today enquired about status of the death warrant of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case. The Court was informed that the Sessions Court has fixed the new date for execution on March 20 at 5.30AM..[Breaking] Delhi Court orders execution of Nirbhaya death row convicts on March 20 at 5.30 am.Taking note of the same, the Court fixed the date for hearing the case on merits, on March 23..This plea is against the Delhi High Court judgment which had ruled that the Nirbhaya convicts cannot be hanged separately. The Centre, however, has sought for the Court to lay down a law on the issue of separate or simultaneous hanging of multiple death row convicts in the same case. .Solicitor General Tushar Mehta pointed out that while the law provides for simultaneous trial pertaining to accused in the same case, it remains silent on execution of convicts in such cases..Mehta told the Court that despite the Sessions Court fixing the date of execution of the Nirbhaya convicts, he suspects that the same may be extended yet again. He said that while the authorities do not enjoy carrying out the duty of executing a person, it is also inhuman to keep a death row convict alive when all his legal remedies stand exhausted..Pointing out that two of the convicts - Mukesh and Vinay - have exercised all their legal remedies, Mehta stated that permission should be given to execute them. This submission from Mehta came after Advocate AP Singh told the Court that the third convict Akshay had filed a subsequent mercy plea which is a "complete" one..Advocate ML Sharma also argued that nobody should be compelled to exercise legal remedies on a deadline. He pointed out that his client Pawan Gupta, the fourth convict, was forced to file his curative plea within a specified time..Sharma had also sought to file an application in the matter which was rejected by the Court. He was, however, given the liberty to file his counter in the case..Mehta opposed Sharma's request for filing an application, stating that Sharma sought to question the integrity of Advocate Vrinda Grover, who represented the convicts..Vouching for Grover's services as a defence counsel, Mehta said that she did her best as a criminal lawyer in the case and that it was unwarranted on Sharma's part to question her bona fides. Mehta said that though he and Grover have opposing views on the case and represent opposing parties, he would "protect and support her" for the efforts she has put into the case..The Bench agreed with Mehta and commended Grover's service as a counsel for the convicts. It further observed that she discharged her duties to the best of her abilities..As regards the question of law pertaining to delay in hanging when there are multiple death row convicts, the Court said it will hear the case on merits on March 23 at 3 PM. Justice Banumathi said that this is a question which needs to be looked into..The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had also moved the Supreme Court with an application seeking a clarification of the Supreme Court's 2014 guidelines regarding the procedure to be followed for the filing of mercy pleas by death row convicts..Centre moves Supreme Court for modification of death penalty guidelines from convict-centric to victim-centric.The Supreme Court's 2014 judgment in Shatrughan Singh Chauhan v. Union of India laid down the procedure for the filing of a mercy plea by death row convicts and for the procedure to be followed by the jail authorities.The MHA has now prayed before the Court to set out a stipulated time frame within which such convicts may exercise their right to legal remedies such as curative petition and mercy plea.