New Petition in SC by Nirbhaya Convict, Hanging Unlikely on Feb 1

One of the four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case to be hanged on February 1 (Saturday) has challenged his execution using the last legal resort in the Supreme Court known as the curative petition.

Akshay Singh, 31, is the third convict to challenge his hanging with the method in a case that has been criticized for its duration and his petition makes his hanging over the weekend unlikely.

TheSupreme Court had rejected Akshay Singh's petition last month seeking a reviewof his death sentence after he filed a plea making bizarre claims, includingciting Hindu religious texts and the Delhi pollution crisis as reasons why thehanging should not be carried out.

The curative petition is expected to be heard byjudges in their chambers and not in an open court. After the curative petitionis rejected, Akshay Singh will have the option to send a mercy plea toPresident Ram Nath Kovind.

The apex court on Wednesday also rejected a petitionby one of the other convicts, Mukesh Kumar Singh, who had challenged therejection of his mercy request citing "non-application of mind" bythe President of India.

Besides Akshay and Mukesh Singh, two others – VinaySharma, 26, and Pawan Gupta, 26, are due to be executed on Saturday at Delhi'sTihar jail. A fifth convict, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, wassent to a remand home and later released.

Mukesh Singh and Vinay Sharma's curative petitions havealready been rejected.

Last-minute petitions by the convicts have been widely seen as desperate attempts to stall their hanging. The delay has been criticized by many including parents of the woman who was raped and left to die.