Nirbhaya Case: Akshay Thakur Becomes Third Convict To File Curative Petition

The curative petition filed by Akshay is expected to be heard by judges in their chambers and not in an open court.

Nirbhaya gangrape case: Another convict in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case, Akshay Thakur challenged his execution using the curative petition, the last available legal resort in the Supreme Court days before his scheduled hanging on February 1.

Thakur became the third convict to file a curative petition in the case, using it as the last legal resort. The curative petition filed by Akshay is expected to be heard by judges in their chambers and not in an open court. After the rejection of the curative petition, he will have the option to send a mercy plea to President Ram Nath Kovind.

Advocate AP Singh, representing convict Akshay Kumar, said he has filed a curative plea on Wednesday and the apex court registry has sought some more documents along with the petition.


"I have approached the SC registry with curative petition today. The registry has asked me to file some additional documents along with the petition and I am in the process of completing the formalities," Singh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

So far, the curative petitions filed by two convicts -- Vinay and Mukesh -- in the case have already been dismissed by the apex court.
Curative petition is the last legal recourse available to a person in a court of law.

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

Four people - Mukesh Kumar Singh, Pawan Kumar Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma, and Akshay Kumar Singh -- are facing execution in the 2012  matter.