New Delhi, Oct 28 The Centre on Wednesday opposed in the Supreme Court a plea filed by Balwant Singh Rajoana seeking commutation of his death sentence to a life term in the 1995 assassination of then-Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.
Rajoana, who has been incarcerated for more than 29 years, including on death row for over 15 years, has sought commutation of his death sentence to a life term due to the delay in deciding his mercy petition.
“We will argue this matter. I don’t think such a prayer can be granted,” Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar Singh.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Rajoana, told the court that the petitioner is in custody for 30 years and the mercy petition is still pending.
The bench posted the matter for hearing on November 18.
Rohatgi had earlier argued that the mercy plea filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on behalf of Rajoana in March 2012 was still pending.
The apex court had asked the Centre to take a decision on Rajoana’s mercy petition. Referring to the sensitivity of the matter, the Centre had said the mercy plea was under consideration.
In September 2024, the top court sought responses from the Centre, the Punjab government and the administration of the Union territory of Chandigarh on Rajoana’s plea.
Then-Punjab chief minister Singh and 16 others were killed in a blast at the entrance of the civil secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. A special court sentenced Rajoana to death in July 2007.
Rajoana’s plea sought a direction for his release.
On May 3, 2023, the apex court refused to commute his death sentence and said the competent authority could deal with his mercy plea.
In his fresh plea filed in 2024, Rajoana highlighted having undergone 28.8 years in jail, of which he has spent more than 15 years as a death row convict.
He said the SGPC submitted a mercy petition under Article 72 (of the Constitution) in March 2012, seeking clemency on Rajoana’s behalf.
The plea contended that more than a year had elapsed since the top court directed the competent authority to deal with the mercy plea and take further decision.
It referred to an April 2023 order of the top court in a separate matter, which directed all the states and appropriate authorities to decide pending mercy petitions at the earliest, without any inordinate delay.
(PTI News)
