NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court was informed on Friday that the execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, sentenced to death in Yemen for murder, has been stayed.
Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General R Venkataramani told a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that “efforts are ongoing” to secure her release. He assured the court that the government is committed to ensuring Priya’s safe return.
“The government is doing all it can,” the bench remarked.
The petitioner’s counsel stated that a pardon must be obtained first, after which the issue of “blood money” would arise. The court was also informed that the execution, earlier scheduled for July 16, has been postponed.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on August 14.
The Supreme Court is hearing a petition urging the Centre to intervene diplomatically to save the 38-year-old nurse from Palakkad, Kerala. Priya was convicted in 2017 for the murder of her Yemeni business partner and sentenced to death in 2020. Her final appeal was rejected in 2023. She is currently incarcerated in a prison in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital.
