Delaying Tactic? Nirbhaya Convict Refuses To Recognise Mother; Wants To Be Treated For Schizophrenia

The court had on February 17 issued fresh death warrants for March 3 at 6 am against the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

Court has issued fresh death warrants for March 3 at 6 am against all four convicts.

New Delhi: In what might be considered as yet another tactic to postpone the scheduled execution of Nirbhaya gangrape and murder convicts, one of the death row prisoners Vinay Sharma on Thursday approached a Delhi High Court with a fresh plea seeking treatment for his mental illness, insanity and schizophrenia. Responding to the same, the Delhi Court has sought response from Tihar jail authorities on the request by the convict seeking better treatment for his claimed mental illness and physical injuries. According to reports, additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana directed the prison authorities to file its reply on the plea by Vinay Kumar Sharma on Saturday. As per prison officials, Sharma injured himself by banging his head on his cell wall in Tihar Jail. The incident happened in jail number 3 on Sunday afternoon, they said, adding that he got some minor injuries and was treated inside the prison premises. During the hearing, the prosecution opposed the plea saying it was not maintainable. WATCH REPORT | Nirbhaya Case: Convict Vinay Sharma Tries To Injure Himself Inside Tihar Jail Counsel for Sharma told the court that the convict was refusing to recognise people, including his mother. The convict, however, has exhausted all this legal remedies. The plea claimed that when Sharma's counsel visited him in the prison on the request of his family members, he found that he had sustained grievous head injury, fracture in his right arm with plaster and was suffering from "insanity", "mental illness" and "schizophrenia". Sharma could not identify his counsel and his mother in jail, the plea read. The petition also claimed that Sharma was having "decreased sleep" for a long time and was referred to senior psychiatrist in view of drug dependence. Sharma’s lawyer AP Singh had made similar claims during a hearing earlier this week before the judge issued death warrants against the four convicts. ALSO WATCH | New Death Warrant Issued To Execute Nirbhaya Case Convicts On March 3 The court had on February 17 issued fresh death warrants for March 3 at 6 am against the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. It had issued fresh warrants against death row convicts -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay (26) and Akshay Kumar (31). This is the third time that death warrants have been issued against them. (With inputs from PTI)