Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, May 18: The Supreme Court, while exercising its constitutional prerogative under Article 142, ordered the release of AG Perarivalan, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, on Wednesday.
The court made the decision based on his excellent behaviour in prison, medical condition, educational qualifications obtained while in captivity, and the fact that his mercy petition with the Tamil Nadu Governor has been pending since 2015.
“State cabinet had taken its decision based on relevant considerations. In exercise of Article 142, it is appropriate to release the convict,” said the judges.
The Supreme Court also ruled that the Governor’s decision to refer Perarivalan’s mercy petition to the President of India is unconstitutional.
In 1998, an anti-terrorism court sentenced Perarivalan to death. The Supreme Court maintained the conviction the next year, but commuted it to life imprisonment in 2014. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in March of this year. Perarivalan filed an appeal shortly after, requesting an early release from prison.
Notably, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was slain during an election rally in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, on May 21, 1991, by a female suicide bomber known as Dhanu. In this case, seven persons were found guilty. Despite the fact that they were all sentenced to death, the Supreme Court commuted their sentences to life in 2014, citing the President’s excessive delay in deciding on their mercy appeals.
