Headlines
No mercy for Rajiv Gandhi killers, SC told
New Delhi, July 21
The central government
Tuesday told the Supreme Court that no mercy could be shown to the
killers of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as it opposed the Tamil
Nadu government's move set free seven convicts by granting them
remission of sentence.
Opposing Tamil Nadu government's plea to
release the seven convicts, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the
constitution bench of Chief Justice H.L.Dattu and Justice Fakkir Mohamed
Ibrahim Kalifulla, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, Justice Abhay Manohar
Sapre and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit that "our former prime minister was
killed by these people. There was a conspiracy to kill him in which
foreign nationals were also involved. What mercy could be sshown to
them."
He also took the constitution bench through different
stages of the case during which the mercy petition of assassins was
rejected by the Tamil Nadu governor and the president and subsequently
their death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Supreme
Court on grounds of undue delay in deciding their mercy petitions.
Appearing
for the other victims of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, Ranjit Kumar
stated his stand while opposing the plea by senior counsel Ram
Jathmalani appearing for one of the convicts V. Sriharan alias Murugan
and Rakesh Dwivedi appearing for the Tamil Nadu government.
The
constitution bench is hearing a reference by three judge bench on the
question whether after the commutation of death sentence into life
imprisonment, could the state government further grant remission of
sentence to release the Rajiv Gandhi assassins.
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 the 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 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 would remain behind bars in excess of life
term of 14 years.