The hanging of four death row convicts in Tihar jail on Friday brought the curtains down on the Delhi gang rape and murder case of a 23-year-old paramedic in December 2012 that had shocked the country.
Following is the timeline of events spanning more than seven years before the convicts were executed.
Dec 16, 2012: Paramedical student gang-raped and brutally assaulted by six men in a private bus and thrown out of the moving vehicle along with her male friend. The victim is admitted to Safdarjung Hospital.
Dec 17: Widespread protests erupt demanding stringent action against the accused.
Police identify the accused – bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh SIngh, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta.
Dec 18: Ram Singh and three others arrested.
Dec 20: Victim’s friend testifies.
Dec 21: Juvenile nabbed from Anand Vihar bus terminal in Delhi. Victim’s friend identifies Mukesh as one of the culprits. Police conduct raids in Haryana and Bihar to nab the sixth accused, Akshay Thakur.
Dec 21-22: Thakur arrested in Aurangabad district of Bihar and brought to Delhi. Victim records statement before the SDM in hospital.
Dec 23: Protesters defy prohibitory orders, take to the streets and clash with police. Delhi Police Constable Subhash Tomar rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
Dec 25: Rape victim’s condition declared critical. Constable Tomar succumbs to injuries.
Dec 26: Following a cardiac arrest, government flies victim to Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
Dec 29: Victim succumbs to injuries and other medical conditions. Police add murder charge in the FIR.
Jan 2, 2013: Then Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir inaugurates fast track court (FTC) for speedy trial in sexual offence cases.
Jan 3: Police file charge sheet against five adults accused of murder, gang rape, attempt to murder, kidnapping, unnatural offences and dacoity.
Jan 5: Court takes cognisance of the charge sheet.
Jan 7: Court orders in-camera proceedings.
Jan 17: Fast track court starts proceedings against the five adult accused.
Jan 28: Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) says minority of juvenile accused is proved.
Feb 2: Court frames charges against five adult accused.
Feb 28: Juvenile Justice Board frames charges against the minor.
Mar 11: Ram Singh commits suicide in Tihar Jail.
Mar 22: Delhi HC allows national media to report trial court’s proceedings.
Jul 5: Inquiry in JJB against the juvenile in concludes. JJB reserves verdict for July 11.
Jul 8: Fast track court completes recording of testimonies of prosecution witnesses.
Jul 11: JJB holds minor also guilty of illegally confining and robbing a carpenter on the
night before taking part in the gang rape.
Aug 22: Court begins hearing final arguments in trial against four adult accused.
Aug 31: JJB convicts the minor for gang rape and murder and awards three-year term at a probation home.
Sep 3: Court concludes trial and reserves verdict.
Sep 10: Court convicts Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan of 13 offences including gang rape, unnatural offence and murder of the girl and attempt to murder her male friend.
Sep 13: Court awards death penalty to all 4 convicts.
Sep 23: Delhi High Court begins hearing the convicts’ death sentence reference sent to it by the trial court.
Jan 3, 2014: Delhi High Court reserves verdict on convicts’ appeals.
Mar 13: Delhi High Court upholds death penalty to the 4 convicts.
Mar 15: Supreme Court stays execution of two convicts, Mukesh and Pawan, after they file appeals. Later, stays execution of other convicts also.
Apr 15: Supreme Court directs police to produce the dying declaration of the victim.
Feb 3, 2017: Supreme Court says it would hear afresh the aspect of awarding death penalty to the convicts.
Mar 27: Supreme Court reserves verdict on their appeals.
May 5: Supreme Court upholds death penalty to four convicts, says the case falls under the category of ‘rarest of rare’ and the offence created “tsunami of shock”.
Nov 8: Mukesh moves Supreme Court seeking review of its verdict upholding the capital punishment awarded to him.
Dec 12: Delhi Police opposes Mukesh’s plea in Supreme Court.
Dec 15: Convicts Vinay Sharma and Pawan Kumar Gupta move Supreme Court for review of its verdict.
May 4, 2018: Supreme Court reserves order on review plea by Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta.
Jul 9: Supreme Court dismisses review pleas of three convicts.
Feb, 2019: Victim’s parents move Delhi court for issuance of death warrants of the four convicts
Dec 10, 2019: Akshay moves plea in Supreme Court seeking review of his death penalty.
Dec 13: Victim’s mother moves Supreme Court opposing review plea of convict
Dec 18: Supreme Court dismisses Akshay’s review plea.
Delhi govt seeks death warrants for execution of death sentence to the 4 convicts
Delhi court directs Tihar authorities to issue notice to convicts to avail their remaining
legal remedies.
Dec 19: Delhi High Court dismisses plea of Pawan Kumar Gupta claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the offence
Jan 6, 2020: Delhi court dismisses complaint filed by Pawan’s father seeking FIR against sole witness
Jan 7: Delhi court orders 4 convicts to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail.
Jan 14: A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justices N.V. Ramana, Arun Mishra, RF Nariman, R. Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan reject the curative petitions filed by two convicts – Mukesh Singh and Vinay Sharma – in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case. Mukesh then files a mercy plea before the president.
Jan 17: President Ram Nath Kovind rejects mercy plea of Mukesh Kumar.
Jan 17: Delhi court issues fresh black warrant to execute the four convicts on February 1 at 6 am.
Jan 25: Mukesh Singh moves the Supreme Court against the rejection of his mercy plea.
Jan 28: Akshay Thakur approaches Supreme Court with a curative petition
Jan 29: After reserving verdict on January 28, the apex court hears rejects his petition.
Jan 30: Supreme Court rejects Akshay Thakur’s curative petition.
Jan 31: Delhi trial court suspends death warrants until further orders because mercy petitions of Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur are pending.
Feb 1: President Kovind rejects Vinay Sharma’s mercy petition.
Feb 5: President Kovind rejects Akshay Thakur’s petition. The Delhi High Court affirms the stay on execution, but directs convicts to exhaust legal remedies within a week. On the same day, the Centre and Delhi governments move the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi HC’s order that all convicts must be hanged together.
Feb 11: Supreme Court allows Centre to approach trial court seeking issuance of a fresh date for the execution of the death sentence of the gang rape convicts.
Feb 14: Supreme Court rejects Vinay Sharma’s appeal against rejection of mercy petition.
Feb 17: Trial court issues fresh death warrants for the execution of the four convicts on March 3, at 6 am.
Feb 29: Akshay Thakur and Pawan Gupta move a petition before a local Delhi court seeking their execution -scheduled for March 3 – is stayed for a third time.
Mar 2: Curative petition filed by Pawan Gupta is dismissed. He had sought lifetime imprisonment instead of the death penalty.
Mar 4: President Ram Nath Kovind rejects mercy petition of Pawan Gupta.
Mar 5: A Delhi court orders the hanging of the four convicts at 5.30 am on March 20. This is the fourth death warrant to be issued by the court in the case.
Mar 6: Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma move the International Court of Justice seeking a stay on the execution of their death sentence.
Mar 17: Akshay Thakur files a second mercy petition before President Ram Nath Kovind.
Mar 17: Hangman arrives in Tihar jail for the fourth time.
Mar 18: Delhi High Court rejects Mukesh’s plea claiming he was not in Delhi at time of crime
Mar 18: The convicts move a Delhi court seeking stay on their death penalty, saying the second mercy plea of one of them is still pending.
Mar 19: Delhi’s Patiala House Court rejects all petitions of Mukesh Singh, Akshay Thakur, Pawan Gupta and Vinay Sharma to stop their execution. The convicts had claimed that they still had legal remedies left.
Mar 20: All four convicts hanged at 5:30 am in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
