NE LEGAL BUREAU
NEW DELHI, FEB 20
The Supreme Court has stayed a death warrant issued by a Gujarat sessions court. The warrant was stayed as the court had issued the same without waiting for the mandatory 60 day period.
The 60 day waiting period is mandatory as it gives the convict the time to appeal before the Supreme Court. While staying the order, Chief Justice of India, S A Bobde was visibly upset. He asked the Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta, why such black warrants are issued despite the Supreme Court’s reported order in 2015 in the Shabnam case.
The CJI said despite our judgment, how is it that such black warrants are issued before the exhaustion of the period of limitation. The judicial process cannot go on like this. Tell us why this has happened, the CJI also asked.
The case related to the hanging of a man who raped and murdered a 3-year-old girl in Gujarat in 2018.