Vinay Sharma, one of the convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, on Saturday moved the President’s office seeking immediate withdrawal of his mercy petition as he claimed that the plea sent to the President by the Union Home Ministry was not signed and authorized by him.

This came a day after the Centre on Friday recommended to President Ram Nath Kovind rejection of the mercy plea of Sharma.

The parents of Nirbhaya had also moved the President’s office seeking rejection of the mercy petition filed by Vinay Sharma.

Nirbhaya’s parents, in a letter, stated that the mercy petition is a deliberate attempt to avoid the execution of the death sentence and hamper the dissemination of justice. They also stated that the agony and pain are unbearable for them and the wait for justice is getting longer and longer.

Earlier on Sunday, the Delhi government had “strongly recommended” the rejection of the mercy petition filed by one of the convicts of the 2012 Nirbhaya murder case.

On the recommendation, Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain said this was a case where exemplary punishment should be given to deter others from committing such atrocious crimes.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said his government has recommended the President to not show any leniency to the culprits in the case. Kejriwal told reporters that his government believes that culprits should get such stringent punishments that people think 10 times before committing such crimes.

The petition was forwarded to the state government after the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court rejected it, saying “he does not deserve any mercy”.

A 23-year-old woman was brutally gangraped and tortured on December 16, 2012 in a moving bus which led to her death. All the six accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused was a minor and appeared before a juvenile justice court, while another accused committed suicide in Tihar Jail. Four of the convicts were sentenced to death by a trial court in September 2013, and the verdict confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014 and upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2017, which also dismissed their review petition in July 2018.