New Delhi: Chief Justice S A Bobde recused himself on Tuesday from hearing the plea of convict Akshay Kumar Singh seeking review of the 2017 apex court judgment upholding his death penalty in the Nirbhaya gang rape-and-murder case.
At the outset, a special bench comprising CJI and Justices R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan made it clear that review pleas has to be heard by another appropriate bench.
The CJI said one of his relatives had earlier appeared on behalf of the victim’s mother in the case and observed that it would be appropriate that some other bench hear the review plea at 10:30 am.
Advocate A P Singh, appearing for Akshay, started his submission saying that the case in hand has suffered political and media pressure and grave injustice has been done to the convict.
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This is how delays start. First the Supreme Court refused to find time to hear this case even though there was national outrage. Years have gone by. Finally, the sentence was confirmed. Then the convict didn’t ask for a review, choosing to file a mercy petition. A year later, the convict wants to review the decision – a decision that was itself a review of a lower court decision. Most of this is not required by law. It is simply a creation of the Supreme Court, which has historically never shown any concern for the victims or their families.