India’s Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is the second law officer in the country, has said that there should be no more delays in carrying out the death sentence in the case of the four men, found guilty of the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a young student on a bus, who later became known as Nirbhaya (“fearless” in Hindi).

"In the interest of the society and victim, there should be no delay. Even in the case of the convicts, the Supreme Court says that there should be no delay as it would have dehumanising effect on the convict"

Mehta argued the Indian government’s case before the Delhi High Court on Sunday after it asked the court to fast-track the execution of the men on Friday. The men were sentenced to death in 2013, and were initially scheduled to be hanged on January 22, some 8 years after their grizzly crime. However, after one of the convicts filed a last-minute appeal, which had since been rejected, the execution was postponed and set for February 1.

That time it was not to happen either. A day after the hangman arrived in preparation for the execution, another convict filed a mercy plea (since also rejected) – with the court granting a new stay. No new date has been set.

The government argues that the convicts are playing cat and mouse with India’s justice system, while the nation’s patience is wearing thin.

Six were originally implicated in the high-profile crime that sparked outrage and mass protest across India, and later served as an inspiration to Neftlix miniseries, ‘Dehli Crime.’ 

One suspect was found dead in his jail cell, while the youngest of the group, who was a minor at the time of the assault, was released after three years in juvenile detention. Out of the four remaining perpetrators, one, Mukesh Singh, exhausted all his appeal options, including a mercy plea, while the other three have their appeals pending.

 “There is deliberate, calculated and well thought of design to frustrate mandate of law,” Mehta said, referring specifically to the youngest of the convicts, Pawan Gupta, who, unlike his other co-conspirators, has yet to file curative and mercy pleas, which can take months to review.

The official appeared to suggest that such cases as Nirbhaya’s is reason for mob justice thriving in india, invoking the gang-rape and murder of 27-year-old veterinarian Priyanka Reddy in Hyderabad in December. The suspects in that case were shot and killed by police allegedly when trying to escape, with their deaths being praised by many Indians, criticizing the government’s inaction.

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