Delhi HC dismisses Nirbhaya case convict Mukesh Singh’s plea

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed an application filed by Mukesh Singh, one of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, challenging the trial court order that had dismissed his plea, seeking stay on the execution claiming he was not present in Delhi on December 16, 2012, the night of crime.

A single-judge HC Bench, headed by Justice Brijesh Sethi, while dismissing the plea filed through advocate M.L. Sharma observed, “There are no grounds to interfere in the detailed and reasoned order dated 17.03.2020, passed by the trial court.”

“There is nothing on record to suggest that trial stands vitiated because material evidence was concealed. There is, thus, no infirmity, illegality or irregularity in the order passed by the trial court,” the court said.

Sharma had approached the high court against the order that dismissed his client’s plea and also directed the Bar Council of India (BCI) to do a sensitisation exercise with the counsel.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana had on Tuesday pulled up the counsel for making “false averments”.

While dismissing his plea, the judge had said, “Unfortunately some mischievous brains have been projecting and consciously nurturing a misplaced notion that there is a premium over dishonesty, mendacity in this country. This court is of the considered opinion that the authorities involved in the dispensation of Justice are duty-bound to dispel such Ill-founded notion.

“It would be axiomatic to observe that time is a precious judicial entity and is required to be sagaciously spent. The learned members of the Bar appearing before the court are duty-bound to render full cooperation and assistance to the court to ensure that justice is delivered expeditiously to the litigants without any unnecessary delay.

“In these circumstances, I deem it appropriate that the conduct of the counsel for the convict needs to be brought to the notice of the BCI for appropriate sensitisation.”

Mukesh along with three other convicts — Akshay, Pawan and Vinay — is scheduled to be hanged at 5:30 a.m. on March 20.

The case pertains to gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old girl, later dubbed as Nirbhaya, in the national capital in 2012. Six people, including the four convicts and a juvenile, were named accused in the case.

Ram Singh, the sixth accused, allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail days after the trial began. The juvenile was released in 2015 after three years in a correctional home.

IANS