TN moves SC seeking review of verdict in Rajiv Gandhi killer’s remission case
New Delhi, July 27: The Tamil Nadu government has filed a petition seeking review of a Constitution Bench verdict which said that State government has “primacy” over the Centre in deciding whether the seven killers of Rajiv Gandhi should be granted remission from serving a life time behind bars.
The State government argues that it is only required to consult the Centre on the question of granting remission to the life term convicts and that the term ‘consultation’ does not imply getting the concurrence of the Centre as decided by the Constitution Bench.
The judgment by the Constitution Bench had held that State governments cannot unilaterally decide on the grant of remission to life-term convicts in cases investigated by central agencies like the CBI, specifically so in cases of national interest.
The verdict by the top court had dislodged plans by the Tamil Nadu government, which in a letter to the Centre had proposed releasing the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
On its part the Centre contended that no further mercy should be shown to the convicts in the assassination case. The Supreme Court had effectively in February stayed the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to release three convicts — Murugan, Santhan and Arivu — whose death sentences were commuted to life term by it on February 18. Later, it also stayed the release of four other convicts — Nalini, Robert Pious, Jayakumar and Ravichandran.
In his judgment for the majority of the Bench, Justice Kalifulla said the word ‘consultation’ in Section 435 actually meant ‘concurrence’. The court ruled that consultation with the Centre in such heinous cases should not be an “empty formality” as national interest was at stake.
Reiterating that life imprisonment is “lifelong”, the judgment upheld the Supreme Court verdict in that constitutional courts in special cases of heinous offences and terrorist crimes, especially those where they do not want to award death penalty, could sentence a convict to more than 20 years of imprisonment without the right to apply for remission.
