Nirbhaya convicts asked to avail their final family meeting

The Tihar Jail authorities have written to the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case regarding their final meeting with their families.

This comes 10 days ahead of March 3 -- the date set for the execution of the four death row convicts in the 2012 gang rape and murder case.

"Given in writing to the four accused about their final meeting with family. Informed Mukesh and Pawan that they have already availed the final meeting. Asked Akshay and Pawan to indicate their date of final meeting. Apart from this the regular meetings of twice a week is continuing for all of them," a senior jail official said.

A Delhi court on February 17, ordered that the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case will be hanged "by the neck until they are dead" on March 3 at 6 a.m. after observing that deferring the execution any further would be sacrilegious to the victim's rights.

"Article 21 merely guarantees an opportunity to the condemned convicts to exercise their legal rights. However, whether to utilise this opportunity is a matter of choice. The executions were deferred twice... deferring them any further would be sacrilegious to the rights of the victim for expeditious justice," the court observed.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana was hearing a petition seeking the issuance of a fresh date for the execution of the death warrants in the case.

On January 31, a trial court had stayed "till further order" the execution of the four convicts -- Mukesh Kumar Singh, 32, Pawan Gupta, 25, Vinay Kumar Sharma, 26, and Akshay Kumar, 31.

Of the four convicts, Pawan has not yet availed the remedy of either curative petition or mercy plea.