Nirbhaya convict Akshay Kumar Singh’s wife Punita has approached the court, seeking a divorce from him before he is hanged
Bengaluru: Two days before he is to be hanged, Nirbhaya convict Akshay Kumar Singh’s wife Punita has approached the court, seeking a divorce from him.
The petition in this regard has been filed at a local court in Bihar’s Aurangabad.
As reported by NDTV, Punita, Akshay's wife, has said, "My husband is innocent. I want to be legally divorced before he is hanged."
She has also expressed her desire not to lead the life of a widow once her husband is hanged till death.
The court has now set the hearing date as March 19.
Punita's lawyer Mukesh Kumar Singh, speaking to media in Aurangabad said, "My client (Akshay Kumar Singh's wife Punita Singh) has a right to seek divorce from her husband. That is why I have filed a plea in the family court. She has the right to seek divorce under Section 13(2)(II) of Hindu Marriage Act which says a woman can seek divorce if the husband has, since the solemnisation of the marriage, been guilty of rape, sodomy or bestiality."
The four convicts will be hanged in Tihar jail on March 20 at 5: 30 in the morning. The hangman Pavan, hailing from Meerut has arrived and has conducted dummy hanging.
Meanwhile, the lawyers of the convicts have also approached the International Court of Justice seeking a stay on the execution.
But legal luminaries feel there is no way the date will see another extension.
Earlier, there were three postponements in the hanging dates. The lawyers had used their legal acumen to the fullest to earn more time for the clients.
They had in fact, re-approached the top court to restore their rights to file review and curative petitions as they alleged that amicus curiae Vrinda Grover had misled one of the convicts.
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