Nirbhaya Case: Convicts Escape The Gallows Once Again; Won't Be Hanged On Tuesday

After the order was passed, Pawan's lawyer informed the court that he has filed a mercy plea before the President and the execution be stayed.

March 3 is the date set for the execution of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case

New Delhi: For the third time, execution of all four convicts in the 2016 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case has been postponed as Delhi Court on Monday deferred the hanging till further orders. The convicts were scheduled to be hanged at 6 am on Tuesday. The court deferred the matter as the mercy petition of one of the convicts, Pawan Kumar Gupta, is pending before President Ram Nath Kovind. The court heard the petition filed the lawyer of one of the two convicts, Pawan Kumar Gupta, after it was informed that he has filed a mercy plea before the President after his curative petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court earlier in the day. Pawan's curative plea was rejected by the Supreme Court earlier in the day. Additional Session Judge Dharmender Rana asked Pawan's lawyer, A P Singh, to come post-lunch to argue on why stay of execution be granted. The court dismissed the applications for stay moved by Pawan and co-convict Akshay Kumar Singh. After the order was passed, Pawan's lawyer informed the court that he has filed a mercy plea before the President and the execution be stayed. Watch here: Akshay, in his application for stay, had said that he has filed a fresh mercy petition before the President of India, which is pending. He contended that his earlier mercy petition which was dismissed by the President did not have complete facts. Also watch: Hangman reaches Tihar jail for dummy execution Pawan had taken the ground that he has filed a curative petition before the Supreme Court. He had also said that he had an option to file a mercy petition. Both the convicts told the court further that a number of other petitions are also pending before the Supreme Court and other authorities. SC Dismisses Curative Petition Of Pawan Earlier in the day the Supreme Court, rejected the curative petition of Pawan,  a day ahead of the scheduled execution of the four convicts. The petition had sought commutation of his death penalty to life imprisonment. A five-judge bench headed by Justice N V Ramana said that no case is made out for re-examining the conviction and the punishment of the convict. Other members of the bench were justices Arun Mishra, R F Nariman, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan. The Supreme Court was on Monday hearing 'in chamber' the curative plea of Pawan Kumar Gupta, one of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case - a day before scheduled hanging. Pawan was the last death row convict in the case to move the top court with his curative plea, the final legal remedy available to a person. A 23-year-old physiotherapy intern was gang-raped and savagely assaulted in a moving bus in South Delhi on December 16, 2012. She died a fortnight later. WATCH: 'What was the fault of my girl child,' questions Nirbhaya's mother (with inputs from PTI)