Now, the court has said that all the four convicts will be hanged together and not separately, however, an order has been passed onto them to exercise any of the appeals within a week following which authorities should take action. The High Court also said that convicts has used various tactics which made the process frustrated.
After dismissal of convicts appeals by apex court in May 2017, nobody took steps for issuanace of death warrants against them, said the High Court.
Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, on February 2 had reserved order on the Centre's plea after holding special hearings on Saturday and Sunday.
The Centre and the Delhi government had challenged the trial court's order of January 31 which put stay on the execution of all four convicts "till further orders." Convicts in the case-- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31), who are help captive in Tihar jail.
The parents of the victim has urged the court to effectively and efficiently decide on the Centre's plea and were assured by the judge that the order would be passed at the earliest.
The trial court on January 7, had issued black warrants for the execution of all the four convicts in Tihar jail at 7am on January 22. However, they could not be hanged due to pending mercy petition filed by one of the convicts. Later, on January 17, the trial court finalised the hanging to take place on February 1 at 6am.
On January 31, the trial court again stayed the execution as the counsel for three convicts -- Pawan, Vinay and Akshay, urged it to adjourn the matter "sine die" saying their legal remedies were yet to be exhausted.
However, the mercy petitions of Mukesh and Vinay have been rejected by the President, Pawan has not yet filed it. Akshay filed mercy plea on February 1 which is still pending. The Centre and Delhi government approached the high court on February 1, challenging the trial court's order staying the execution.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had contended that it was a deliberate and calculated design of the convicts to "frustrate mandate of law" by getting their execution delayed and they were not entitled to any more time.
The counsel for the convicts opposed the plea saying it was not maintainable and that the Centre was never a party in the case proceedings before the trial court and while the government was accusing the convict of delay, it has woken up only now.