Article by Darshana Jamindar
Today, Supreme Court will finalise on whether to release killers of Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi or not. NDA led Modi government has decided to uphold former UPA government’s stand in Supreme Court and oppose on Jayalalithaa government’s February 19 decision to release seven life imprisonment convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case by remitting their remaining jail term. On February 20, UPA government approached the Supreme Court and got a stay challenging Tamil Nadu government’s resolution on release of all seven convicts. The consequent communication was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs for consultation. Center’s plea stated that there should be no release as assassination of a former prime minister was a crime against the nation and that the killers and conspirators had shown no remorse. Out of the seven, three including Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, were awarded death sentence in 2001.
SC had earlier commuted the death sentence of three convicts , Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan , to life term after noting that there was an inexplicable delay on the part of the President in deciding their mercy petitions. Another question to the constitution bench which government the Centre or the state governments would be the “appropriate government” to take deicision on remission when the crime committed falls in both the union and the state lists. The petitioners in a writ petition, challenged the constitutional validity and applicability of the power of pardons, reprieves, respites or remission of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence under Sections 432, 433, 435 and the limitation of Section 433A of the Cr.PC.
