A Delhi court on Monday rejected a plea by the father of death row convict Pawan Kumar Gupta in the December 16 gang rape and murder case challenging the court’s order rejecting his plea questioning the credibility of the sole witness in the case.
Judge A.K. Jain dismissed the appeal by Mr. Heera Lal Gupta, father of Pawan, saying he appeared to be “desperate and mala fide.” The court, however, did not impose any costs on him taking into account that his son is one step away from the gallows.
“The present revision petition has no merits,” the court said.
The additional public prosecutor said Pawan was trying to stall the execution by moving petitions through his father.
Advocate A.P. Singh, appearing for Pawan’s father, claimed that Pawan was a victim of media trial. The sole eyewitness, a friend of the 23-year-old victim, was accompanying her in the bus when the gruesome incident took place. He too had sustained injuries.
A Delhi court had on January 6 dismissed Gupta’s complaint against the sole witness in the matter alleging that he was a “motivated witness.” Pawan’s father had challenged the order in the sessions court.
A Delhi court on January 20 issued death warrants for February 1 against the four convicts — Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31), Mukesh Kumar Singh (32) and Pawan (26) — in the case.
