Nirbhaya convicts to avail legal remedy of curative petition
New Delhi: After issuance of death warrants against them by a court here on Tuesday, the only legal remedy left with the four convicts in the appalling 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case is to approach the Supreme Court with curative petitions to seek relief from capital punishment.
The convicts can also avail the constitutional remedy of filing mercy pleas with the President.
Advocate A P Singh, representing Akshay, Pawan and Vinay, said he will soon approach the apex court with their curative petition and will also seek a stay on the death warrants issued by the trial court till the disposal of the curative plea.
A curative petition is the last legal recourse available to a person and it is generally considered in-chamber.
A Delhi court on Tuesday issued death warrants of the four convicts -- Mukesh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- ordering that they be hanged on January 22 at 7am in Tihar Jail.
The top court had on December 18 last year dismissed a plea filed by Akshay Singh seeking review of the 2017 judgement upholding his death penalty.
On July 9, 2018, the apex court had dismissed the review pleas filed by the other three convicts -- Mukesh, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma -- in the case, saying no grounds have been made out by them for review of the 2017 verdict.
The 23-year-old paramedic student, later referred to as Nirbhaya, was gang raped and brutally assaulted on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012 in a moving bus in south Delhi by six people before being thrown out on the road.
She died on December 29, 2012 at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.
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High-level inquiry committee set up to probe fire in Rajdhani Express: Railway Board
New Delhi (PTI): The West Central Railway Zone has constituted a high administrative grade-level inquiry committee to investigate the fire on the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express on Sunday.
The fire erupted at 5.15 am in the B-1 passenger coach of the train between Vikramgarh Alot and Lunirichha stations under the Kota Railway division, one-and-a-half hours after it left the Ratlam Junction in Madhya Pradesh, according to an official. The fire also damaged the luggage brake and generator car behind the coach.
"The committee has been nominated by the general manager of West Central Railway (WCR). It comprises senior officers from the West Central Railway, Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, and RDSO (Research Designs and Standards Organisation)," the Railway Board said in a press note.
"Principal chief safety officer, WCR, has been appointed as the convener of the committee," it said, also mentioning other committee members such as principal chief electrical engineer, principal chief mechanical engineer, principal chief security officer from the WCR zone, and principal chief mechanical engineer from the Integrated Coach Factory, among others.
As per the provisions of the Accident Manual, the committee has been directed to complete the inquiry within the stipulated timeframe.
The Board stated that the committee will conduct a detailed examination of the causes of the incident, technical aspects and safety parameters so as to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.
"Indian Railways remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of passengers and is taking all necessary measures in this regard," it added.
