The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will consider the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a death row convict in the 1995 assassination of then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, if the Centre fails to make a decision on the matter “either way.”
A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai, P K Mishra, and K V Viswanathan has adjourned the hearing of Rajoana’s plea for two weeks, as he seeks commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment, citing an “inordinate delay” in processing his mercy petition.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, informed the court that Rajoana’s mercy plea is pending with the President’s office. The bench directed him to ensure a timely decision: “Decide it either way or we will consider it (Rajoana’s plea),” they stated.
Rajoana has been in custody for nearly 29 years, and his counsel, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, requested his temporary release while the mercy petition is reviewed. “His mercy petition has been pending with the President’s house for the past 12 years.
Please release him for six or three months. At least let him see what the outside world looks like,” Rohatgi urged.
The Punjab government indicated that it requires additional time to file a counter-affidavit regarding the case. Mehta emphasized the seriousness of the situation, noting Rajoana’s conviction for the assassination of a sitting chief minister and indicating that he needed to consult further on the issue.
The bench responded by granting the Punjab government two weeks to submit their counter-affidavit, stating, “We need to see their response.” Previously, on September 25, the Supreme Court had requested responses from the Centre, the Punjab government, and the Chandigarh administration regarding Rajoana’s plea.
The assassination of Beant Singh, along with 16 others, occurred during a blast at the Chandigarh civil secretariat on August 31, 1995. Rajoana was sentenced to death by a special court in July 2007. He has maintained that a mercy petition under Article 72 of the Constitution was filed on his behalf by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in March 2012.
Notably, on May 3 of the previous year, the Supreme Court declined to commute his death sentence, stating that the appropriate authority could address his mercy plea.
