However, the Supreme Court denied the fact and said he was not juvenile when he took part in the aweful gang-rape and murder of a paramedic student on the cold wintry night of December 16, 2012. Lawyers of Pawan Gupta had challenged the Delhi High Court order which had dismissed his claim of being a juvenile at the time of commiting offense.
The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice R Banumathi accepted the plea of Delhi Police in which they said his birth certificate showed Pawan was 19 years old at the time of crime. With this dismissal, the hanging of the four convicts will be held on February 1 is now bound to happen till other convicts file the petitions.
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Advocate AP Singh, appearing for the death row convict Pawan Kumar Gupta, said that as per his school-leaving certificate he was a minot at the time of the offence and none of the courts, including trial court and high court, ever considered his documents.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi Police, said that his claim of juvenility was considered at each and every judicial forum and it will be travesty of justice if the convict is allowed to raise the claim of juvenility repeatedly and at this point of time.
He said the convict was 19 years old at the time of offence and there is a certified copy of his birth certificate as well as school leaving certificate which was taken on record by each and every judicial forum.