Supreme Court asks Centre to immediately look into Rajoana's mercy plea in Beant Singh assassination case

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, March 26

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to immediately look into the mercy plea of Balwant Singh Rajoana for commuting the death penalty awarded to him in former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh's assassination case.

“The matter shall immediately be looked into by the authorities concerned, including the Government of India and the Central Bureau of Investigation,” a three-judge Bench led by Justice UU Lalit ordered on Thursday.

Convicted of assassinating Beant Singh in 1995, Rajoana has been in jail for 25 years awaiting his execution. The former Punjab chief minister and 16 others were killed in an explosion outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh in 1995.  He was sentenced to death in 2007 by a special court. His mercy petition has been hanging fire for more than eight years.

The Bench said despite the Centre seeking time to spell out its stand, “nothing has been done and the learned counsel appearing for the Union of India has no clear instructions in the matter”.

The top court ordered the CBI to make the proposal for or objection to commutation of death penalty in two weeks.

“The appropriate authority in the Central government shall bestow attention and take the required decision within two weeks of the receipt of the proposal or objection from the Central Bureau of Investigation,” said the Bench – which also included Justice S Ravindra Bhat and PS Narasimha.

“The Action Taken Report and the decision in terms thereof shall be placed on record of this case on or before April 30, failing which the Secretary, Department of Home Affairs, and the Director (Prosecution), Central Bureau of Investigation, shall remain personally present along with the record in the court on the next occasion,” it ordered, posting the matter for May 2.

The petitioner’s counsel had earlier said the convict’s mercy petition had been pending for almost nine years and the case shouldn’t be adjourned for more than two weeks.

Citing Devender Pal Singh Bhullar’s case, the petitioner has claimed that the "delay caused by circumstances beyond the prisoners’ control mandates commutation of death sentence”. The inordinate delay caused agony and adversely affected his physical and mental health, Rajaona contended.

Maintaining that pendency of appeals by co-accused has no bearing on presidential pardon granted to a death-row convict, the Supreme Court had questioned the Centre over delay in sending proposal to the President for commuting Rajoana’s death penalty.

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