The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to commute the death sentence handed down to Balwant Singh Rajoana and said that the central government may deal with the mercy petition as an when possible. Balwant was convicted in the former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Sing assassination case. The Central government took too long to rule on Rajaona’s request for mercy, so he filed a petition asking for the death sentence imposed on him to be commuted. A bench of Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath, and Sanjay Karol delivered the decision.
“The competent authority, as and when they deem necessary, may deal with the mercy petition and take a further decision. Petition disposed accordingly,” the bench ordered.
The Supreme Court had reserved its judgment in the matter on March 2.
Since being found guilty in the Beant Singh assassination case, Balwant Singh Rajoana has spent more than 26 years behind bars.
His request for the President’s clemency has been in limbo despite the government’s decision to spare his life in 2019 to mark the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birth.
Balwant Singh claimed in a petition to the Supreme Court written from his prison cell that the government ignored his repeated requests for an update on the status of his mercy request.He called the delay ‘inexplicable’. Supreme Court had asked the CBI and the Central government to immediately look into the matter.
Relevantly, the Court had also forewarned that, should the authorities fail to decide quickly, the concerned Secretary and the CBI Director (Prosecution) would have to attend future hearings personally.
The bench had verbally noted during the hearings that the Central government’s continued inability to decide on Rajaona’s 2012 mercy request seemed disrespectful.
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi who appeared for Rajoana said that keeping his client on death row for long while a mercy petition remained pending, violated his fundamental rights. He characterized this as discriminatory given that other such convicts had received the requested relief.Rohatgi also urged the Court to order Rajoana’s release on parole due to the government’s hesitation in making a decision. KM Nataraj, an additional solicitor general, claimed that Rajoana had not previously made any requests for the sentence to be commuted.
Prior to last year, he had stated that only groups like the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) made such representations. According to ASG Nataraj, numerous organizations had even written letters opposing the idea.
