President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday rejected the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh, one of the four men convicted in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, sources said.The rejection came soon after the Union Home Ministry forwarded the petition to the president on Friday morning.

The Union Home Ministry forwarded to President Ram Nath Kovind the mercy petition of one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape case, recommending its rejection.

“The Home Ministry has forwarded the mercy petition of Mukesh Singh to the President. The ministry has reiterated the recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for its rejection,” the official said.The Delhi LG had sent the mercy petition of Mukesh to the Home Ministry on Thursday, a day after the Delhi government recommended its rejection.

The four convicts Mukesh Singh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) were to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail. A Delhi court had issued their death warrants on January 7.