NEW DELHI, July 14: In a grim development, the Government of India on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it has exhausted all possible avenues to save Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya from execution in Yemen. Appearing before a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, Attorney General R. Venkataramani stated, “There is nothing much the government can do,” citing the diplomatic limitations due to Yemen’s lack of international recognition.

The Attorney General explained that the sensitive geopolitical situation in Yemen prevents India from exercising direct diplomatic influence. “There is a point till which the Government of India can go, and we have reached that,” he told the bench. He added that although a request was forwarded to the Yemeni prosecution to suspend Priya’s execution, it yielded no positive outcome. “We got an informal communication that execution would be put in abeyance, but we do not know if it will work out,” Venkataramani said.

The court was hearing a plea filed by the ‘Save Nimisha Priya Action Council’ which urged the Ministry of External Affairs to intervene through diplomatic channels and negotiate a stay on the execution, citing provisions under Sharia law that allow for a waiver through the payment of diya (blood money) to the victim’s family.

Nimisha Priya, an Indian national from Kerala, has been sentenced to death in Yemen for the murder of Yemeni citizen Talal Abdo Mehd. She has been incarcerated for the past three years, and reports suggest the execution may take place on Wednesday following approval from Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi.

The Supreme Court has acknowledged the diplomatic limitations and expressed its inability to pass any enforceable orders against a foreign nation. However, it has scheduled the next hearing for July 18 and has directed the Centre to file an updated status report.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has made a direct appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting urgent intervention to save Nimisha’s life. Nimisha’s mother, Prema Kumari, aged 57, has been campaigning relentlessly for her daughter’s release and even travelled to Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in an effort to personally negotiate blood money with the victim’s family.

Her cause has been supported by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, a collective of NRI social workers based in Yemen. The group continues to advocate for humanitarian intervention and a last-minute resolution to prevent the execution.