Chandigarh: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will pronounce the final verdict on the quantum of punishment for Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is convicted in the former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh's assassination case, on November 1. The Center meanwhile submitted an affidavit in the matter stating that a decision could not be taken due to security reasons. The Supreme Court further said that the central government can take a decision about the same in the meantime.
Rajoana was initially arrested on December 22, 1995, for the assassination of the then CM of Punjab Beant Singh that took place on August 31, 1995. The suicide bomb attack had killed 12 more people in Chandigarh in that incident.
Rajoana has since been in jail, with only an hour of parole granted to him in January this year for his father's funeral. For the past 27 years, the center has failed to conclude a decision about the death penalty though the Supreme Court has released at least seven orders on the matter so far.
