Nimisha Priya case: Delhi HC refuses to entertain appeal for Indian govt interventions, negotiations with family of victim in Yemen

New Delhi [India], April 12 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to entertain an appeal seeking directions to the Central Government to facilitate diplomatic interventions as well as negotiations with the family of the victim on behalf of Nimisha Priya to save her life by paying blood money (diyah) in accordance with the law of the land (Sharia Law) in a time-bound manner.
The bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla on Tuesday after hearing the submissions finds no merit in the appeal and noted that the central government can't be directly involved in the negotiation etc.
The appeal was moved by the organization 'Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council'.
Appellant also sought direction to Union of India through the Ministry of External Affairs and Embassy of India Sana'a, Yemen camp office in Djibouti to make necessary arrangements for receiving the money collected / to be collected by the Petitioner in India and transfer the same to the account of the family of the victim in Yemen through the official/diplomatic channel if the family of the victim is ready to pardon her by receiving the blood money.
The Central government on March 15 informed the single bench of the Delhi High Court that bearing the fact that the convict, Nimisha Priya, is an Indian national, the government will take all proactive steps to institute an appeal before the next appellate forum in accordance with Yemen's prevalent law.
After taking note of the submission of the Centre the court of Justice Yashwant Varma had disposed of the petition and said the concerned ministry is requested to duly pursue the remedy against the order of conviction as affirmed by the court of appeal. The High Court further requested the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to communicate to the concerned consulate to facilitate the travel of the petitioner as well as to provide help of interpreters if so required.
In a Fresh appeal, Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council has sought direction to modify the order dated March 15, 2022, to the extent that an order or direction may be issued directing respondents to facilitate diplomatic interventions as well as negotiations with the family of the victim on behalf of Nimisha Priya to save her life by paying blood money in accordance with the law of the land (Sharia Law) in a time-bound manner.
The appeal stated that an appeal court in Yemen on March 7, 2022, dismissed an appeal filed by Indian citizen Nimisha Priya, who has been sentenced to death for the murder of a Yemeni national in 2017. It is pertinent to mention that the option for blood money (Diyah) is kept open by the appeal court even while dismissing the appeal of Nimisha Priya.
Nimisha stands accused of the murder of Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national, who died in July 2017 after she allegedly injected him with sedatives to get to her passport that was in his possession. Nimisha was allegedly abused and tortured by Mahdi.
In the appeal moved in Delhi High Court, the petitioner's lawyer, Subhash Chandran KR told the court that Nimisha Priya, after her sentence by a trial court in 2020, had filed an appeal against the death penalty in an appeal court in Yemen's capital. However, the appeal court has upheld the death sentence.
"Though another chance of appeal to the Supreme Court still exists, Nimisha Priya is unlikely to be spared the punishment awarded by the lower court for the 2017 murder. The apex court rarely sets aside the verdict of the appeal court as it will only examine if any procedural errors affected the outcome of the case, not its merits. She can hope to come out of the death row even now only if the victim's family accepts blood money and she manages to get relief from legal procedures," the appeal said.
"Neither Nimisha's family members nor the members of the Petitioner organization are able to travel to Yemen for negotiations at present as the respondents have declared a travel ban for Indians to Yemen since 2016," the petitioner said.
"In this context, strong and timely interventions of Respondent Indian authorities to facilitate the negotiations are highly warranted considering the current socio-political situations in Yemen. The Petitioner and family of Nimisha are facing serious challenges to deal with the ongoing legal process there. Even the trial court judgment of 2020 has not been received yet. If the family of the victim agreed to pardon her by receiving "blood money" the petitioner is unable to pay the same as financial transactions to Yemen is also restricted by the Indian authorities," the appellant said.