AAP raises issue of delay in hanging of Nirbhaya case convicts in RS

The issue of delay in the hanging of convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape case figured in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday (February 4), with the Aam Adami Party demanding the intervention of the President or the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in the matter.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said the matter was “very sensitive and serious” and the court judgement must be implemented at the earliest.

Raising the issue during the morning session of the House, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said despite the punishment awarded to the four convicts, their hanging is being postponed. He also said that political remarks were being made regarding the case.

Also read: Javadekar blames AAP govt for delay in execution of Nirbhaya convicts

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as “Nirbhaya” (Fearless), was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died due to her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.

The brutality of the crime shook the nation, leading to country-wide protests and a change in India’s rape laws.

Singh said while the entire country was on the streets following the gang rape in 2012, the culprits have been able to get a new date every time to delay the execution. “Tarikh per Tarikh (date after date),” Singh said, in an apparent reference to a famous dialogue of the film “Damini” revolving around a rape trial.

Also read: Can’t be executed separately: Nirbhaya convicts tell Delhi HC

TMC and Congress MPs, who were raising slogans against the citizenship amendment law, NRC and NPR, stopped sloganeering as the issue was discussed.

Observing that people are agitated and concerned over the delay in execution of the court order, Chairman Naidu said those in the system must fulfil their responsibilities. He said the convicts were given all legal opportunities.

“We cannot allow such things to go on in the country… People are getting restive… It must be seen that judgement is implemented at the earliest,” he said.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar blamed the Delhi government for the delay in executing the punishment.