In what can be called a step closer to the death sentence, a bench in Supreme Court comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna headed by Justice R Banumathi on Wednesday dismissed the review petition filed by Akshay Kumar Singh, one of the convicts in the rape case of Delhi medicine student Nirbhaya. Confirming the death sentence, the apex court has rejected the plea that convict deserves mercy as the pressure to implicate him had been overlooked. On this note, the Supreme Court has given a week time to the convict for pleading for mercy before the President of India.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who represented the Delhi government stated that these kind of crimes was where humanity cries God also must have held His head in shame for having created these five monsters. On the other hand, Convict’s lawyer AP Singh argued there was media and public pressure to implicate him. He also questioned the inefficiency of the police to carry out a legit investigation to hold the real perpetrators. “CBI inquiry was never carried out in the case,” he stated. While the review petitions of the three other convicts had been dismissed earlier, the six accused committed suicide. One of the convicts who was minor was released after three years of custody.
