New Delhi: “There is a point as long as the Government of India can go. We have reached that point,” India’s Attorney General R Venkataramani told the Supreme Court on Monday, during the hearing of a petition demanding the execution of Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen. The execution is temporarily determined for 16 July.The apex law official said that the government was eager to save its citizens and was “extremely possible” in the matter.The bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehtawas was hearing a petition filed by an organization, seeking guidelines to the Center to use diplomatic channels to intervene in the case of 38-year-old Nimisha Priya, seeking directions to the Center, which is in the line of death to kill his Yemeni business partner in Yemen.
Why the government said that it cannot save Nimish Priya -Hurti angle
Attorney General R Venkatarmani informed the bench that the government had made efforts through informal and indirect channels. He said that a letter was sent to the Public Prosecutor to find out the possibility of suspending execution. “The Indian government is doing its best,” he said that some influential sheikhs were also contacted in the area.However, Venkatarmani also underlined the boundaries of diplomatic outreach citing a complex position in Yemen. “With respect to Yemen’s sensitivity and position, the government of India cannot do much,” he said. Referring to the Hothis who control the region, he said that he is “not even a diplomatically recognized.” It was said that there is no embassy in Yemen in India, and Nimisha Priya is universally recognized, instead of the Hotthi-controlled Sana, the situation may be different, the live law said.He told the court that the situation was not compared to other parts of the world where formal inter-governmental talks are possible. “It’s so complex,” he said, “and we do not want to complicate the situation too much public.” He said that the government had obtained an informal communication, which suggested that the execution was “kept under habitable,” but said, “We don’t know how far it is.,On the possibility of blood money, he said, “Blood money is a personal conversation,” and insisted that the government cannot be asked to work beyond its defined boundaries. Venkataramani said, “This is not the case where the government can be asked to do something beyond the defined limit. This is not possible.”
What did the bench say
The bench said that the petitioners were not demanding funds from the government, but only to assist in establishing contact with the deceased’s family to interact on the payment of blood money, which is allowed under the Yemeni Act.The bench said, “They (petitioners) are saying that they may be able to arrange blood money. The only question is a link to the conversation.”It commented that the case was related. “The real reason for anxiety is the way in which the incident occurred and despite this, if she loses her life, it is really sad.”The court posted the case for further hearing on July 18 and asked all the parties to inform them about any developments.
What did the petitioners say
The lawyer representing the ‘Sev Nimisha Priya – International Action Council’ told the court that Priya’s mother was in Yemen with a social worker to start a conversation with the deceased’s family. He said, “To avoid death punishment, only one thing is possible that the family of the deceased agrees to accept blood money.”He said that the final legal appeal was already rejected by the Supreme Judicial Council of Yemen, and the death penalty under the Sharia Act of the country was confirmed. The lawyer said that diplomatic channels need to temporarily detect the date of temporary execution.He also emphasized that the petitioners were not asking for funds from the government and will arrange for necessary compensation themselves.
Why was Priya punished?
Nimish Priya, a nurse from Palakkad district of Kerala, was convicted in 2020 for the murder of Talal Abdo Mahdi, the business partner of his Yemeni. Documents of the Yemeni court stated that in July 2017, Priya allegedly drugged Mahdi and killed her with the help of another nurse. His body was then destroyed in an underground water tank.Priya participated in 2015 with Mahdi to open a clinic in Sana, the capital of Yemen, as the local laws require Yemeni National to register any such business, the petition said. The same year, Mahdi went with Priya on a trip to Kerala.His petitioners have argued that Priya did not get a fair test due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen at that time. He described him as “war victim” and said that there was a lack of adequate legal defense during his trial. Priya is imprisoned in Sana.
