Delhi rape convicts will not be hanged till further orders: Delhi court

The four Nirbhaya rape case convicts extracted another last-minute reprieve just 12 hours before they were to hang, as a Delhi court deferred their execution indefinitely.

This is the second time their execution was put off by the judge. The judge did not issue a fresh warrant for their execution this time, reports NDTV.

Several hours earlier, Judge Dharmender Rana had heard the lawyer of the convicts seek cancellation of the death warrants since the four were yet to exhaust their legal options. One mercy petition is still pending before the President.

"The death warrant has been cancelled and no new date has been given," AP Singh, the lawyer of one of the convicts confirmed.

Nirbhaya's mother wept as she said a convict's lawyer had challenged her in court.

"He challenged me...he said there would be no hanging," she told reporters after an excruciating day waiting in courts.

The convicts filed multiple petitions to stall their hanging by taking advantage of the legal system of government's skewed.

A new petition was filed today before the Supreme Court and rejected.

Pawan Gupta's claim of being a minor at the time of 2012 gang-rape and killing was dismissed by the Supreme Court for the second time in two weeks.

He had asked the court to review its decision last week, even though he had been told that once rejected, an age claim cannot be contested repeatedly.

On December 16, 2012, the young woman, Nirbhaya was gang-raped by six men on a moving bus and tortured with an iron rod and thrown off the vehicle. She died on December 29.

The assault stunned the nation and angry protesters filled the streets for justice.

Of the six men, one was found hanging in jail. The youngest, just short of 18 when the crime was committed, was released after three years in a reform home.

Nirbhaya's parents said the four men should be hanged tomorrow instead of being allowed to exploit the law to delay the process.