Akshay Singh Thakur, one of the convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya rape case, on the 10th of December, moved the Supreme Court to question the death penalty to which he was sentenced.
On behalf of Akshay, his lawyer A.P. Singh filed a petition and said he does not deserve a death sentence when the Delhi pollution is soon going to kill him. In his petition, Thakur said, “It is important to note here that air quality of Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) and the metro city is like a gas chamber. Not only this, the water of Delhi NCR is also full of poison. This fact is proved by the Government of India report submitted in the Parliament.” The petition added, “Everyone is aware of what is happening in Delhi NCR with regard to air and water. Life is going to be short, then why death penalty?” It further added, “The state must not simply execute people to prove that it is attacking terror or violence against women. It must persistently work towards systematic reforms to bring about change.”
Making a reference to Hindu mythology and the Vedas, Mr. Singh said, “It is mentioned in our Ved, Purans, Upanishad that in the age of Satyug, people lived thousands of years. In Treta Yug, a man used to live for thousands of years…but now it is Kalyug. In this era, age of a human being is reduced much. It has now come down to 50-60 years.”
Condemning Akshay’s situation in jail, the lawyers mentioned in the petition that in the present era, the life of people depends upon the situation and if a person is living in adverse situations and facing stark reality, he is no less than a dead man.
Concluding his petition questioning the judiciary system of India, Akshay said the rich are rarely sent to jails or given death penalty and if the judiciary cannot provide equal standards for all, it has no right to execute anyone.
According to sources, out of the 4 convicts, Akshay was the last one who was allowed to file a review petition as the remaining 3 already submitted their review petitions, which were rejected.
Meanwhile, according to sources, preparations are going on for the execution of the four accused at Tihar Jail, Delhi.
A Tihar Jail official, who wished to remain anonymous, addressed the media and said, “We don’t have a hangman. We will get one from some other state when needed.”
The execution would take place in Jail Number 3. Special ropes are being brought from Buxar, a jail in Bihar. Officials are cleaning the area for carrying out the execution which was announced by the judiciary in 2017. As of now, all the four convicts are in different cells and are being monitored through CCTV.
Though the officials started the preparation for executing the four accused in the Nirbhaya rape case, an official announcement about when the executions would take place is yet to be made.
Stay tuned for further updates.
