New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Central Government to take a decision on the mercy petition of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana by March 18. Rajoana was convicted and awarded death sentence in the 1995 assassination of the then Chief Minister of Punjab Beant Singh.
"We are granting you time by way of a last chance. Either you take a decision or otherwise we will hear it (the petition) on merits," a bench headed by Justice B R Gavai told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre. The bench which also comprises Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan, was hearing Rajoana's plea seeking directions to commute his death sentence to life term due to the inordinate delay in deciding his mercy petition.
Mercy petition under consideration: Centre
Mehta said the matter was sensitive and said the mercy petition was under consideration. He urged the bench to grant six weeks time. On the other hand, Rajoana's counsel told the bench that his client has already spent around 29 years in jail. Mehta said the matter relates to murder of a sitting chief minister. On November 25 last year, the Centre had told the apex court that the matter was sensitive.
Matter is sensitive: Centre
While hearing the petition on November 18 last year, the apex court had put on hold its order asking President Droupadi Murmu's secretary to place before her the mercy petition of Rajoana for consideration. After the order was passed in the morning on November 18, 2024, the solicitor general had urged the bench that it should not be given effect as there were sensitivities involved in the issue. Mehta had then told the top court that the file was with the Home Ministry and not the President. On September 25 last year, the top court sought responses from the Centre, the Punjab Government and the administration of the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Rajoana's plea.
The then Punjab chief minister and 16 others were killed in a blast at the entrance of the civil secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. A special court sentenced Rajoana to death in July 2007. In his plea, Rajoana has sought the apex court's direction to the respondent authorities to commute his death sentence due to inordinate delay in its execution and in deciding the mercy petition filed on his behalf. The plea said consequentially, a direction be issued for his release. On May 3, 2023, the apex court refused to commute his death sentence and said the competent authority could deal with his mercy plea. In his fresh plea, Rajoana said he has undergone a total sentence of about 28 years and eight months, of which 17 years have been served as a death row convict. He said that in March, 2012, a mercy petition under Article 72 of the Constitution was preferred by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee seeking clemency on his behalf.
The plea said over a year has elapsed since the top court had directed the competent authority, in due course of time, to deal with the mercy petition filed on his behalf and take further decision thereon. It referred to an April 2023 order of the top court in a separate matter in which the court had directed all the states and appropriate authorities to decide the pending mercy petitions at the earliest and without any inordinate delay.
