Act on Rajoana’s mercy petition or we’ll decide on commutation: Supreme Court to government | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to take a decision either way on mercy plea of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana or it will decide his plea seeking commutation of sentence. He was convicted in the former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh assassination case and spent 29 years in jail.
As senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Rajoana, pleaded for interim relief to allow him to come out of jail during the pendency of case, a bench of Justices B R Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra and K V Viswanathan said that it would issue any order only after hearing opposite sides. The court granted two weeks’ time to the Centre and Punjab govt to file their response on his plea. Rajoana was convicted for assassinating Beant Singh and has been in jail for 29 years.
Rajoana was sentenced to death in 2007 by a trial court but he, unlike other convicts, did not challenge his conviction in high court and Supreme Court. A mercy plea for his commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment was filed by an organisation and has been pending for around 12 years.
Ministry of home affairs had on Sept 27, 2019 written to the Punjab chief secretary to propose special remission and release of prisoners on the occasion of commemoration of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in which his name was also there. But his name was not sent in view of the pending appeals of the co-accused in the apex court.
The top court in 2020 also made it clear that Centre had to decide on mercy plea and had said “it is not denied that the petitioner has himself not filed any appeal against his sentence. Therefore, there is no question of awaiting the outcome of any appeal pending before this court. It is obvious that the factum of the appeals pending at the behest of other coaccused would have no relevance to the proposal intended to be sent for consideration under Article 72 of the Constitution”.
Rohatgi submitted that it was a “shocking case” as the convict had been continuously behind bars for 29 years out of which he spent 15 years under the shadow of death and his mercy plea has been pending for past 12 years.
Observing that govt must show “compassion” while deciding mercy pleas of its citizens, the court had earlier directed Centre to take a decision expeditiously on Rajoana’s mercy petition.