The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna has today dismissed one of the Nirbhaya convicts, Pawan Gupta’s petition which sought review of the apex court’s order, dated 20 January, which rejected his juvenility claim.
Earlier, the convict in his petition contended that his age was 17 years, 1 month and 20 days when the offense was committed, and thus should be considered as Juvenile. It was dismissed by both the High Court as well as the Supreme Court, respectively. Yet, Pawan Gupta has once again filed a review petition just a day before his scheduled hanging i.e. on 1 February.
The Advocate AP Singh appearing for the convict argued that as per Pawan’s school leaving certificate, he was a minor at the time of the offense and none of the courts, including trial court and high court, ever considered his documents. Contending with Singh’s statement, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi Police, stated that Pawan’s claim of juvenility was considered at every judicial forum and it will be a travesty of justice if the convict is allowed to raise the claim of juvenility repeatedly and at this point in time.
On the other hand, the Tihar jail authorities conveyed the Delhi court that convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case can be hanged separately while the Advocate AP Singh, appearing on behalf of the convicts, sought sine die (without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing) adjournment stating that some legal remedies are still available for the convicts.
