NEW DELHI—The Supreme Court has stayed release of three convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case which has led the legal battle between the Tamil Nadu state government, and the Union Government of India.
On Wednesday, a day after the top court spared three of the convicts, Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan from execution, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced that all seven convicts in the case would be freed, and gave the Centre three days to respond to her decision, after which, she said, she would go ahead.
The central government says that Tamil Nadu must take such a decision in concurrence with it, as Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination was investigated by a central agency, CBI, and under a central law, the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act or TADA. The Jayalalithaa government has argued that the killers had been acquitted under the central law.
SCI cited logic behind its latest judgment, that there have been procedural lapses on the part of the state. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam asked the state government to maintain status quo regarding three prisoners whose death sentences were commuted to life term by it and said the Centre can file a fresh petition regarding the other four prisoners whose sentences have also been remitted.
It said that all procedural checks laid down in the law have not been followed by the state government, and it will examine the issue raised by the Centre. “We are worried about the procedural lapses, and we will examine the issue,” the bench said, adding that “All states are bound to follow the procedure”. The bench issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government, which strongly opposed the Centre’s plea, and directed it to file its response within two weeks.
“We respect the powers of state government, but we are examining the procedure followed by it,” the bench said when the state government pleaded with the court not to pass any order on staying the release of the prisoners.
The bench also said that the commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment cannot automatically result in remission of the sentence, and the proper procedure laid down in the law has to be follow before releasing the prisoners from jail.
It also issued notice to the convicts asking them to file their response within two weeks. The bench posted the matter for hearing on March 6.
