'Nothing Much Govt Can Do' : Centre Tells Supreme Court On Plea To Halt Nimisha Priya's Execution In Yemen

"There's a point till which Government of India can go. We have reached that point", Attorney General for India R Venkataramani told the Supreme Court today in a plea seeking to stall Keralite nurse Nimisha Priya's execution in Yemen, which is scheduled to take place on July 16.

The matter was before a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.

On behalf of the petitioner, an organization called "Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council", Senior Advocate Ragenth Basant informed the Court that Priya's family and supporters are negotiating 'blood money' with the victim's family, so she can be pardoned in terms of Shariat Law. The Union government can assist in the negotiations through diplomatic channels, he urged. It was further clarified that the petitioner is not seeking financial assistance from the Union to assemble the 'blood money'.

The AG however highlighted the sensitivity of India's diplomatic ties with Yemen, saying it's not like any other country in the world with which India can negotiate. It was stated that India has no embassy in Yemen, and had Nimisha Priya been lodged in universally recognized-Aden, instead of Houthi-controlled Sanaa, the situation could have been different.

Nonetheless, the AG added, utmost possible efforts are underway to save the Keralite nurse. Recently, he informed, the government has also written to the concerned Yemen Public Prosecutor to find out if the execution can be suspended.

"There's nothing much government can do...looking at sensitivity of Yemen...it's not diplomatically recognized...blood money is a private negotiation...There's a point till which government of India can go. We have reached that point. Yemen is not like any other part of the world. We didn't want to complicate situation by going too much public, we are trying to do as much as possible at private level...the government is also engaged with some Shaikh, who are very influential people there, all that is being done..." the AG said.

Justice Mehta noted that the case is "sensitive" in nature and indeed a "sad" one. "Real cause of concern is the stance of the girl...the manner in which the incident took place, and inspite thereof, if she loses her life, that is really sad", the judge remarked.

The AG conceded that what's happening is rather unfortunate, but reiterated that it's not a case where the government can be asked to do something beyond the defined limit. He also mentioned that there appears to be a standstill in the negotiations taking place between Priya's family and the victim's.

Insofar as Basant prayed "let the death sentence not happen", the bench wondered how it could pass such an order with respect to a foreign nation. "How can that order be passed? Who is going to respect that order?" asked Justice Mehta.

At this point, the petitioner submitted that if the Union is able to establish a negotiating link with the victim's family, the amount of 'blood money' may not be allowed to act as a stumbling block.

Considering the Union's limited role in the matter, the Court ultimately adjourned the case till Friday, saying that it be apprised of the fresh status.

To recap, the 36-year old is facing death sentence for the 'murder' of a Yemeni national in 2017, who allegedly tortured and assaulted her. To retrieve her documents, including passport, from the Yemeni man's possession, Nimisha Priya apparently tried to sedate him using ketamine, but unfortunately, an overdose caused his death. At present, her family is trying to negotiate with the Yemeni man's family and offering 'bloody money' so they would pardon her as per Shariat law.

On July 10, the matter was mentioned before a partial Court working days bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, which listed it on July 14, while asking the Union government to apprise the Court through Attorney General R Venkataramani about the steps taken regarding the case.

Background

Nimisha Priya, an Indian origin nurse from Kerala, was sentenced to death in 2018 for the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi. As per claims, Talal was Nimisha Priya's business partner but forged documents to show that she was his wife. Allegedly, he even seized her passport and subjected her to physical and mental torture. One day, in 2017, she injected him with sedatives to retrieve her passport. Unfortunately however, Talal died and Nimisha Priya was sentenced to death.

Pursuant to a challenge, Nimisha Priya was tried again. But in 2020, she obtained the same verdict. At that point, the petitioner-Council was formed by her relatives and supporters to secure her release. In 2023, Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council rejected an appeal preferred by Nimisha Priya. Last year, the Yemeni President approved her death sentence.

Recently, the petitioner-organization filed the present petition seeking directions to the Union Government to secure her release from Yemen through diplomatic channels. The petitioner highlighted that as per Shariat law, a person can be released if the relatives of the victim agree to accept "blood money" and negotiations can be held to explore that option.

Lately, Nimisha Priya's family offered to pay 1 million dollars (Rs.8.6 crores) to Talal's family as 'blood money', a compensation for pardoning her and sparing her life.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on his part, wrote a letter yesterday to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene with Yemeni authorities and save Nimisha Priya from execution. The CM's letter stated that the Keralite nurse's is a case deserving sympathy. Apparently, a similar letter was addressed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in March.

Earlier, Nimisha Priya's mother had approached the Delhi High Court seeking permission to travel to Yemen to make efforts for her release. Responding to that petition, the Central Government informed the High Court in November 2023 that the Supreme Court of Yemen had dismissed her appeal. Taking note of that development, the High Court directed the Central Government to take a decision on the mother's representation. The mother had sought permission to travel to Yemen despite a ban on Indian nationals to travel there.

Case Title: SAVE NIMISHA PRIYA INTERNATIONAL ACTION COUNCIL Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ANR., W.P.(C) No. 649/2025