CJI SA Bobde: Nirbhaya convicts mercy plea should be on 'top priority'

The petition of one of the four Nirbhaya convicts challenging rejection of mercy should be listed on "top priority" if execution is on February 1, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said on Monday.

Convict Mukesh Singh's lawyer had asked the court to list his petition challenging the President's rejection of his mercy plea "urgently".

"If somebody is going to be executed on February 1, then it a matter of top priority," said the Chief Justice, asking the lawyer to approach the court registry.

The petition filed on Saturday asked for the death warrant for the February 1 hanging of the convicts to be cancelled.

Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Singh and Pawan Gupta are to hand at 6 a.m. on Saturday. Their last-minute petitions have been widely seen as desperate attempts to stall their hanging for the 2012 gang-rape and murder that left the nation shocked and grieving.

The curative petitions of two of the convicts were rejected earlier this month and their death warrant was signed for January 22. But at the eleventh hour, Mukesh Singh filed a mercy petition, which meant that the Delhi government had to seek a fresh date for their execution.