The Supreme Court has stayed execution of capital punishment upheld by it earlier for three AIADMK workers involved in burning to death of three hapless college girls in Tamil Nadu in 2000. The incident had taken place after former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's conviction in a corruption case. The order was passed on petitions by three convicts –C Muniappan, Ravindran and Nedunchezhian — seeking review of the apex court's August 30 verdict last year, upholding death penalty awarded to them. While suspending the execution of the death sentence, a bench of justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar also issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government, seeking its response to the writ petition filed by the convicts. The three victims of the infamous Dharampuri bus burning incident — Kokilavani, Gayathri and Hemalatha — were students of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. The bus in which they were travelling along with 44 other students and two teachers was torched on February 2, 2000 following Jayalalithaa's conviction in the Pleasant Stay Hotel case. The Madras High Court had on December 6, 2007, confirmed the capital punishment.