SC agrees to hear plea to save Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya facing death sentence in Yemen

THE Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea seeking direction to the Centre to use a diplomatic channel to save an Indian nurse facing a death sentence in Yemen.

Admitting the petition on Wednesday, the top court sought the assistance of the attorney general and asked the petitioner to submit a copy of the plea to him, according to a report by PTI.

A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi listed the matter for hearing on 14 July. The move came after advocate Subhash Chandran KR said diplomatic channels need to be explored as soon as possible.

The advocate said that payment of blood money to the family of the deceased, permissible under Sharia law, can be explored. He said in the plea that the family of the deceased may pardon the Kerala nurse if blood money is paid.

The SC's decision comes following a widespread appeal to authorities to save the life of Nimisha Priya, who is facing imminent execution in Yemen.

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

Nimisha Priya's death sentence

Meanwhile, news reports quoting a social worker involved in talks with Yemeni officials said the public prosecutor had sent an order to the prison, and the execution is set for 16 July.

However, the Indian nurse's family told PTI that they had not received an official word regarding the execution date of Nimisha Priya.

Priya, hailing from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, was found guilty of murdering her business partner, a Yemeni national. The murder was committed in Yemen.

In 2020, a Yemeni court handed her the death sentence, and the country's Supreme Judicial Council dismissed her appeal in November 2023.

The 38-year-old nurse is presently lodged in a jail in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital city that is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.

Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas on Wednesday wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar urging him to intervene with the highest-level authorities in Yemen to immediately halt the execution of Nimisha Priya.