NEW DELHI: Can the Nirbhaya death row convicts be hanged separately, since at least two of them have exhausted their mercy plea? Delhi high court may answer this question on Wednesday as it gives verdict on the Centre’s plea challenging the stay by a trial court on execution of the four convicts, since one of them had filed a mercy plea before the President.After an urgent hearing on Saturday followed by marathon proceedings on Sunday, Justice Suresh Kumar Kait had reserved orders on the Centre’s plea arguing that pendency of the mercy plea of one convict in a case of multiple death row inmates can’t be used as a ground to stay hanging of those who have exhausted all available legal options or are yet to exercise it.A day after the trial court postponed indefinitely the execution of the four men, the Centre and Delhi Police had challenged it, accusing the condemned prisoners of “testing the patience of the nation”.Before the HC website reflected that judgment will be pronounced on Wednesday, Nirbhaya’s parents on Tuesday mentioned the issue before Justice Kait and pleaded for an expeditious decision.The trial court on January 7, had issued black warrants for the execution of all the four convicts in Tihar Jail at 7am on January 22. But they could not be hanged due to pendency of mercy petition of one of them. Later on January 17, the trial court fixed February 1 for the hanging at 6am, but the court was forced to stay the execution again as the counsel for three convicts — Pawan Gupta Vinay Sharma and Akshay Thakur — urged it to adjourn the matter “sine die” saying their legal remedies were yet to be exhausted.While the mercy plea of Mukesh Singh and Sharma were rejected by the President, Gupta has not yet filed it even as Thakur’s mercy plea filed on February 1 is pending.Solicitor general Tushar Mehta had contended it is a deliberate and calculated design of the convicts to “frustrate mandate of law” by getting their execution delayed and they were not entitled to any more time. But advocate AP Singh — appearing for Gupta, Thakur and Sharma — had opposed the petition questioning the “hurry to execute the death sentence in this case only... Justice hurried is justice buried.”The counsel for the convicts also protested against the fresh plea wondering how it can be entertained when the Centre was never a party in the case proceedings before the trial court. Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing on behalf of Singh, had said that the “Centre has sought the setting aside of the order of the Patiala House court” when “an earlier HC order has clearly said that any order of the trial court should be challenged in apex court only.”