New Delhi, Sept. 25 -- The Union government on Wednesday pressed the Supreme Court to expedite hearing on its plea seeking stricter timelines for death row convicts to avail legal remedies and for executions to be carried out within seven days after rejection of a mercy petition.

Appearing before a bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj said the Centre wanted certain modifications to the 2014 Shatrughan Chauhan judgment so that the framework for death penalty cases factored in the rights and agony of victims, besides addressing the prolonged uncertainty faced by convicts.

In Shatrughan Chauhan's case, the top court held that delays beyond of the convicts' control qualif...