Nirbhaya case: President rejects clemency petition of another convict Akshay Kumar Singh

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President Ram Nath Kovind has rejected the mercy petition of Akshay Kumar Singh, one of the four men facing the gallows in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, Home Ministry officials said on February 5.

Singh filed the mercy petition before the president a few days ago.

The president has rejected Singh's mercy plea, an official said.

Kovind has already rejected the clemency petition of two other accused in the case Mukesh Singh and Vinay Kumar Sharma.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court gave all four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, one week to exhaust all legal remedies available to them against their hanging.

Hours after the high court's verdict, the Centre and the Delhi government filed an appeal against it in the Supreme Court (SC).

Upholding the trial court order staying "till further orders" the execution of all the four convicts in the case, the Delhi High Court said that after one week, the proceedings against them for execution of death warrant will be initiated.

The Centre and the Delhi government challenged the trial court's January 31 order staying "till further orders" the execution of all the four convicts in the case – Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31), who are lodged in Tihar Jail.