A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta questioned petitioner K A Paul about Attorney General R Venkataramani’s assurance that only the government would speak on the matter and that no one else would.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a plea seeking orders to restrain individuals from making “unverified public statements” regarding the case of Indian nurse and death row convict Nimisha Priya.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta questioned petitioner K A Paul about Attorney General R Venkataramani’s assurance that only the government would speak on the matter and that no one else would.
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“What do you want? Do you want nobody to speak to the media? The Attorney General has said the Government of India will ensure that no one briefs the media. What more do you want?” the bench asked.
Venkataramani described the issue as “very sensitive” and assured the court that no media briefings would take place until the matter was resolved.
The case was dismissed as withdrawn.
Paul had sought legal intervention to impose a complete media gag order in the matter.
He explained that sensitive negotiations were ongoing, and some individuals were making false statements.
The plea requested that the Centre take immediate, coordinated diplomatic steps with Yemen to secure the commutation of Priya’s death sentence to life imprisonment.
Among other directives, it also sought an order requiring authorities to approach a competent court for a comprehensive, time-bound media gag preventing anyone from publishing unverified statements or content without prior confirmation from the authorised government agency handling the negotiations.
On August 14, the Supreme Court was informed by counsel for the petitioner organisation that there was “no immediate threat” to Priya.
At the time, the court was hearing a separate plea urging the Centre to use diplomatic channels to save the 38-year-old nurse from Palakkad, Kerala, who was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner in 2017.
The court was informed last month that Priya’s execution, initially scheduled for July 16, had been stayed.
On July 18, the Centre told the court that efforts were underway and that the government was doing everything possible to secure Priya’s safe release.
Priya was convicted in 2017, sentenced to death in 2020, and had her final appeal rejected in 2023.
She is currently imprisoned in a jail in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen.
PTI
Published: 25 Aug 2025, 03:25 pm IST
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