New Delhi, Aug 19 - The Supreme Court Wednesday stayed the scheduled hanging of a man, convicted of raping and killing his four-year-old daughter, at the Ambala Central jail in Haryana Friday.

A bench of Justice D.K. Jain and Justice H.L. Dattu suspended the hanging on a plea of the convict, Neel Kumar, 25, who had been ordered to be sent to gallows for rape and murder of daughter in June 2007.

A native of Bilaspur of Yamuna Nagar district in Haryana, the case against Kumar had been lodged June 28, 2007, on the complaint of his wife, who had also alleged the complicity of four other family members of her husband's family in the crime.

Though Kuamr's other family members were acquitted by a sessions court, Kumar was convicted March 9.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court subsequently confirmed the sessions court ruling July 17 and accordingly the Yamuna Nagar sessions court Aug 4 scheduled Kumar's hanging for Aug 21.

The apex court, however, suspended the hanging pending its decision on Kumar's lawsuit against the high court ruling.