• The mercy plea by Mukesh Singh, one of the convicts, was rejected by President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday
• While death warrants had earlier been issued for 22 January, the filing of curative petitions and the mercy petition had stalled the process of execution
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday issued fresh death warrants against the four convicts, hours after the mercy petition of one of the convicts was rejected. They will be hanged on 1 February at 6 am.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy petition filed by Mukesh Singh, who is one of the four convicts in the 2012 gangrape case, after the Union home ministry, the Delhi government as well as Lieutenant governor Anil Baijal rejected the petition.
While death warrants had earlier been issued for 22 January, the filing of curative petitions and the mercy petition had stalled the process of execution.
Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora was hearing a plea by one of the four death row convicts in the case, Mukesh Kumar Singh who was seeking postponement of the date of execution was on 22 January.
Earlier in the day, the Tihar jail authorities sought issuance of fresh death warrants against the death row convicts
Last week, a Delhi court ordered the hanging of Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh, Akshay Kumar Singh and Pawan Gupta at Delhi's Tihar Jail on 22 January -- eight years after they gang raped the 23 year old paramedic in a moving bus, in New Delhi.
Three of the convicts – Vinay Sharma, Akshay Kumar and Pawan Gupta -- however, can still file their mercy petitions.
The Union home ministry forwarded the mercy petition to President on Thursday, after recommending that it be rejected. The petition, which was Singh's final appeal before his execution is carried out, was filed on Tuesday after the Supreme Court dismissed curative petitions filed by Singh and Vinay Sharma.