Headlines
SC refuses to lift stay on remission to convicts
New Delhi, July 15
The Supreme Court on
Wednesday refused to vacate its July 2014 order restraining all state
governments from releasing life term convicts by exercising their
remission powers as it rejected the plea by Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and
others.
The constitution bench comprising Chief Justice H.L.Dattu
and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, Justice Pinaki Chandra
Ghose, Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit rejected
the plea by these states and a few individual prisoners seeking the
lifting of the stay on the grounds that many life term convicts are
languishing in prisons even after completing 20 years.
It was
suggested by counsel seeking the July 2014 interim order's vacation that
the stay should be lifted in the cases investigated by the state police
and should remain confined to the cases investigated by the CBI and
under central laws.
Appearing for the convicts in Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case, senior counsel Ram Jethmalani raised preliminary
objections to the central government's plea challenging the Tamil Nadu
government's move to release V. Sriharan alias Murugan, A.G. Perarivalan
alias Arivu and T. Suthendraraja alias Santhan.
The others who were sought to be released included Jayakumar, Nalini and Ravichandran.
The
court was told that central government could not have moved the apex
court invoking the constitution's article 32, which provides for
remedies for enforcement of fundamental rights, challenging the Tamil
Nadu government decision to grant remission of sentence and release
Rajiv Gandhi assassins.
Jethmalani said that seven issues framed
by the three judges bench on April 25, 2014 that had referred the matter
to the constitution bench have no relevance to the facts of the case
relating to Rajiv Gandhi assassins.
He said that if the
preliminary issue is decided, then there may not be any necessity of
dealing with the merits of the case. Jethmalani was joined by senior
counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for Tamil Nadu and West Bengal,
raising similar objections.
However, the court referred to the
issue number one referred to the constitution bench for consideration
which seeks know whether life term means life or is limited to a
particular period.
"Unless we determine the issue, that we are
going to hear, either you come out or don't come out," the court
observed as it adjourned the hearing till July 21.
One of the
seven questions framed the bench of the then Chief Justice P.Sathasivam,
Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice N.V.Ramana in their April 25, 2014
judgment was whether after commutation of the death sentence into life
imprisonment either by the president, governor or court, can the
government go further to grant them remission and release them.
The
question was rooted in the conflicting positions taken by the central
and Tamil Nadu governments on whether after the commutation of death
sentence into life imprisonment, could the Rajiv Gandhi assassins or
similarly placed convicts be granted remission and consequent release.
The
constitution bench was further asked to examine whether there could be a
special category wherein after death penalty has been commuted to life
imprisonment, such a convict is put beyond the applicability of
remission of sentence and he would remain behind the bar in excess of
life term of 14 years.