'Nothing formal can happen right now': Centre to SC on Nimisha Priya execution case; 'family has to forgive her'
"I don't think anything formally can happen at this point of time," PTI quoted attorney general R Venkataramani Venkataramani as saying.
The statement came as the petitioner's counsel requested that a small delegation, including members of the petitioner organisation and a religious scholar from Kerala, be allowed to travel to Yemen to negotiate with the victim's family. They also suggested that a government representative could join the trip if the Centre approved.
"We will certainly consider that but don't put it on record," Venkataramani said.
When the bench inquired about an indefinite stay on the execution, the petitioner's counsel clarified that no specific date had been set yet. "Which means something is working," Venkataramani said.
The petitioner's counsel informed the court that Priya's mother was in Yemen to negotiate with the victim's family, having traveled there with the Centre's permission as directed by the Delhi high court.
"We can go and negotiate and seek forgiveness from the family so that something can work out," he said.
The Supreme Court was hearing a plea urging the Centre to intervene diplomatically to save Priya, a 38-year-old nurse from Kerala, who faces execution in Yemen for the alleged murder of her Yemeni business partner in 2017. Convicted and sentenced to death in 2020, her final appeal was rejected in 2023, and she is currently imprisoned in Sana'a.
The government had said on Thursday that it was in contact with Yemeni authorities and friendly nations to seek a "mutually agreeable solution" in Priya's case. The matter has been listed for August 14.
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