The Supreme Court on Wednesday Aug 12,2015 reserved its verdict on Constitutional
issues arising out of the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to cancel
life sentences the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts, including
the power of State governments to remit sentences.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu would
authoritatively deal with legal questions, including the scope of the
Executive’s power of remission.
It would also decide whether State
governments also have power of remission in cases where central agencies
like the CBI are the prosecutor.
The Constitution bench would decide whether the sentence of a prisoner,
whose death penalty has been commuted to life, can be remitted by the
government.
The bench would also decide whether life imprisonment meant
jail term for rest of the life or a convict has a right to claim
remission, it had said.
The Centre had said it could not allow Tamil Nadu to “tinker” with the
Supreme Court judgment and use its power of remission to release seven
convicts whose death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment in the
case
Noting that judicial interference in States’ power to
remit sentences affects the right to personal liberty, the Tamil Nadu
government on Thursday Aug 06,2015 drew a parallel between the assassinations of
Mahatma Gandhi and the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
“Within
a short distance of the vicinity of the Supreme Court, the killer of
Mahatma Gandhi was released after serving 16 years of imprisonment. Then
why not Rajiv Gandhi case convicts? We should always leave window of
hope open,” Tamil Nadu Government’s counsel Rakesh Dwivedi submitted
before a five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India
H.L. Dattu.
Tamil Nadu Government’s counsel Rakesh Dwivedi was referring to Gopal Godse,
brother of Nathuram Godse, who was held guilty as a co-conspirator of
Gandhiji’s assassination in 1948, but was released in 1964.
Note
The SC on Feb 20,2014 stayed the TN Govt's decision
to release three convicts — Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan — whose
death sentences were commuted to life term by it on February 18, 2014 in
the case.
The SC had later on also stayed the release of the four other convicts - Nalini, Robert Pious, Jayakumar and Ravichandran in the case,
saying there were procedural lapses on the part of the State government.
The TN government led by CM J Jayalalithaa had decided to set free all the seven
convicts who have been in jail for 23 years for their role in the
assassination in Sriperumbudur.
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