Delhi Pollution Anyway Killing Me: Nirbhaya Convict in Review Plea

In his petition, he referred to Delhi as a “gas chamber” and its water “full of poison”.

One of the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case on Tuesday, 10 December, moved the Supreme Court seeking review of the death penalty handed to all of them by the apex court.

However, what attracted more attention was the rather bizarre arguments furnished by the convict in his plea.

In his petition, Akshay argued that his death penalty should be revoked as the air and water quality in Delhi is already shortening his life span.

He also referred to Delhi as a “gas chamber” and its water “full of poison” in his petition.

“Life is going short to short, then why death penalty?” his plea noted.

The apex court, on 9 July 2018, had dismissed the review pleas filed by three other convicts in the case.

Akshya, 31, who had not filed the review plea earlier with other three convicts, has now moved the apex court with the petition, his lawyer AP Singh told news agency PTI.

The apex court in its 2017 verdict had upheld the capital punishment awarded to them by the Delhi High Court and the trial court in the case of gang-rape and murder of the 23-year-old woman.

One of the accused in the case, Ram Singh, had allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail. A juvenile, who was among the accused, was convicted by a juvenile justice board. He was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term.