A Delhi court on Monday stayed the execution of the four Nirbhaya rape and murder case convicts (which was scheduled on March 3) and deferred the matter till further orders.
The court deferred the matter as the mercy petition of one of the convicts, Pawan, is pending before the President of India.
The fresh application was moved after the court dismissed their application seeking a stay on the hanging earlier on Monday.
Pawan filed the mercy petition after his curative petition was rejected by the Supreme Court in the morning on Monday.
The four convicts -- Akshay Singh, Pawan Gupta, Vinay Kumar Sharma and Akshay Kumar -- were scheduled to be hanged at 6 a.m. on March 3.
During the course of the proceedings, the court rapped the counsel representing the convicts for acting late. "One wrong move by anybody, and you know the consequences," the judge told lawyers.
Both the Tihar jail authorities and counsel for victim told the court that the application is not maintainable.
The President will seek the status report from jail authorities and they will suo moto stay the execution, Tihar told the court, adding that the jail officials are aware about the filing of the mercy plea.
The case pertains to the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old girl, dubbed later as Nirbhaya, in the national capital in December 2012. Six persons, including the four convicts and a juvenile, were named as accused.