Nirbhaya rape case: Supreme Court reserves verdict on convict Vinay's petition against mercy plea rejection

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved verdict on Nirbhaya gangrape convict Vinay Sharma's request for reconsidering the rejection of his mercy plea.

The verdict will be announced tomorrow at 1400 IST.

Sharma, along with three others have been convicted in the horrific December 16 Nirbhaya rape case and his mercy petition was earlier rejected by the president of India. 

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AP Singh, lawyer of convict Sharma argued before the SC that Sharma's social investigation and medical status report, and his nominal role in the incident have not been taken into consideration by the president while dismissing the mercy plea. 

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"He was illegally tortured in Tihar jail prison," Singh said to the apex court. 

Sharma's counsel also said that the Delhi lieutenant governor and its home minister had not signed the recommendation for rejection of his mercy plea.

However, a bench of Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna said that the LG and the home minister indeed signed the recommendation for rejection of his mercy plea. 

On December 16, 2012, a paramedical student was brutally gangraped and assaulted by six men in a private bus and thrown out of the moving vehicle in the national capital. The victim later succumbed to her injuries and the incident caused a huge uproar in the nation.  

Out of the six men, one committed suicide when was lodged in jail and another convict was released after serving his term as a juvenile. 

The remaining four convicts were sentenced to death and the decision was upheld by the apex court.