Rajoana mercy plea: Supreme Court grants Union government four weeks to decide on petition
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court has granted union government four weeks to submit their response on long-pending mercy petition of Beant Singh assassination convict Balwant Singh Rajoana.
The Centre has flagged the “sensitivity” of the issue and claimed that the situation was not conducive to resolving the matter at present.
A special bench comprising Justices Bhushan R Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan, deferred the hearing on Rajoana’s plea following submissions by solicitor general (SG) Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Union government.
Mehta informed the top court that the Union Home Ministry is holding the mercy petition and it is not yet submitted before the President owing to the sensitive nature of the case as the convict is guilty for the murder of former chief minister of Punjab Beant Singh.
“The matter is sensitive. Several agencies need to be consulted. We need some more time,” Mehta told the bench.
Balwant Singh Rajoana has been incarcerated for 29 years and on the death row since 2007, For 12 years, he was confined in solitary confinement. The Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the death sentence in 2010. Rajoana's execution was stayed in 2012 when Shriomani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee filed a mercy petiiton on his behalf. Since then no decision has been taken on his plea and successive governments have cited national security threat and volatile political situation in Punjab for the delay.
Earlier last week in an ultimatum, Supreme Court had ordered President's office to decide on the matter in a fortnight. Th bench then recorded that if no decision is taken then the top court itself would intervene and consider Rajoana's plea for interim relief.
- PTC NEWS
