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Synopsis

On Monday, the Delhi High Court asked the mother of a Kerala woman, who is on death row in Yemen for killing a Yemeni national, to place documents to show that the foreign court gave her the legal option of paying blood money to negotiate with the victim’s family and save her daughter from the gallows.

Justice Subramonium Prasad was hearing a plea by Nimisha Priya’s mother seeking facilitation of her travel as well as that of three others to Yemen to negotiate with the victim’s family.

Blood money refers to the compensation paid by offenders or their kin to the family of a murder victim.

On the last hearing, the bench had directed the counsel for the petitioner to file an affidavit of the said persons who stay in Yemen, have come to India to visit their families, and are willing to accompany the petitioner's family. "File the affidavits and give a copy to the Center," the court ordered.

Notably, on Saturday last week, in an urgent hearing, the court sought a response from the central government on the plea of the woman.

The woman is seeking facilitation of her travel to Yemen to negotiate with the victim's family for the payment of blood money, a form of compensation in cases of murder.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, who presided over the special hearing, had issued notice to the central government to respond to the petition.

The government's counsel had requested time to gather instructions on the matter, expressing concerns about the risks involved in the woman's mother visiting Yemen.

Nimisha Priya, the woman in question, worked as a nurse in Yemen and was convicted of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi in July 2017. Her mother's plea alleged that she injected Mahdi with sedatives to retrieve her passport from his possession, leading to his death from an overdose.

Despite facing a travel ban for Indian nationals to Yemen, Priya's mother moved the high court earlier this year, seeking permission to negotiate blood money to save her daughter. Her plea urged the court to direct the Union government to facilitate the travel of the petitioner, Priya's 10-year-old daughter, and two other adult family members to Yemen.

The high court was informed that Yemen's top court had dismissed Priya's appeal on November 13, and her execution could occur at any time. The petitioner clarified that she was not requesting the government to pay blood money but seeking permission to travel to Yemen for negotiations.

The Centre's counsel explained that Priya's mother was advised against traveling to Yemen due to volatile conditions, with no Indian consular services available in the country. The court inquired about the possibility of permitting the woman to fly to the nearest country if she wished to travel to Yemen at her own risk.

The court had earlier declined to direct negotiations for blood money but instructed the Centre to pursue legal remedies against Priya's conviction.

Case Title: Prema Kumar v. Union of India & Anr.