2012 Delhi gang rape case: SC rejects Vinay's plea against rejection of mercy petition by President

• The Delhi High Court, on 5 January, had given all the four death-row convicts one week to exhaust their legal options in the case
• The date of execution, initially fixed for 22 January, was postponed and later fixed for 1 February

NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the plea of Vinay Sharma, one of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case against the rejection of his mercy petition by the President alleging that it was done in a "mala fide" manner.

"The note put up before the President of India is a detailed one and all the relevant materials were placed before the President and upon consideration of same, the mercy petition was rejected," The order reads."We do not find any ground for exercise of judicial review of the order of the President of India rejecting the petitioner's mercy petition and this writ petition is liable to be dismissed," it added.

The Delhi High Court, on 5 January, had given all the four death-row convicts one week to exhaust their legal options in the case. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait of High court had observed in the order that since the fate of all the four convicts had been decided in the same order of the Apex court, they should be executed together. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had then moved the top court against the high court’s order. The order will most likely be uploaded on the Supreme court website.

The date of execution, initially fixed for 22 January, was postponed and later fixed for 1 February. The trial court on 31 January stayed "till further orders" the execution of the four convicts in the case, who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

In December 2012, a 23-year-old woman was brutally assaulted and raped by six people in a moving bus in south Delhi, an incident which prompted nationwide protests. She succumbed to her injuries on 29 December at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.