VOI world/ desk
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an urgent plea on July 14, requesting that the central government use diplomatic channels to prevent the execution of Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Palakkad, Kerala, currently on death row in Yemen. She is scheduled for hanging on July 16, following her 2017 conviction for murdering her Yemeni business partner.
A bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi called for the Centre to update the court—via the Attorney General—on any steps taken to intervene. Advocate Subhash Chandran KR, representing the petition filed by the Save Nimisha Priya – International Action Council, highlighted that under Sharia law, Priya may be spared if her late partner’s family accepts blood money (diyat).
Priya was sentenced to death by a Yemeni trial court in 2020. Her final appeal was rejected in 2023, and she is now held at Sanaa Central Prison. The plea seeks government negotiations to either secure a pardon or halt the execution through acceptable channels under Yemen’s legal system.
The court’s decision to consider the matter reflects growing concern over Priya’s fate and the need for swift diplomatic action as the execution date nears.
