Supreme Court agrees to hear plea seeking halt of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya's execution in Yemen

Supreme Court agrees to hear urgent plea of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya who is currently facing execution in Yemen.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea seeking diplomatic intervention to save an Kerala nurse, Nimisha Priya, who is scheduled to be executed in Yemen on July 16 for murder charges.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi listed the matter for hearing on July 14 after advocate Subhash Chandran KR said diplomatic channels need to be explored at the earliest.

He submitted that payment of blood money to the family of the deceased permissible under Sharia law can be explored.

The family of the deceased may pardon the Kerala nurse if blood money is paid, he submitted.

The bench asked the counsel to serve the copy of the petition to the Attorney General and sought his assistance.

Background

Nimisha Priya, 38, a nurse from Palakkad district of Kerala, was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner in 2017. She was sentenced to death in 2020, and her final appeal was rejected in 2023.

She is currently imprisoned in a jail in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen.

Legal support

The plea has been filed by an organisation “Save Nimisha Priya – International Action Council” which extends legal support to assist Nimisha Priya.

The plea cited a media report that stated that the tentative date for execution of Nimisha Priya has been fixed as July 16 by the Yemeni administration.