The Madras High Court on Tuesday reserved its orders on a plea seeking 90 more days of ordinary leave to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case life convict A.G. Perarivalan. He had already availed 60 days of ordinary leave between November 12, 2019 and January 12 this year on medical grounds.
Justices N. Kirubakaran and P. Velmurugan deferred their verdict on a habeas corpus petition filed by the convict’s mother T. Arputham. Senior counsel R. Shunmugusundaram insisted on granting exemption from Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules under which leave could be availed only once in two years.
Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, he said the fact that Perarivalan was in incarceration since 1991 and that he was suffering from co-morbidities must be taken into consideration while considering his plea for granting 90 more days of leave which he wanted to spend with his aged parents.
The counsel told the court that the convict was shifted from the Central prison in Vellore district to the one in Puzhal near Chennai only to help him obtain specialised treatment for his ailments through frequent visits to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and Government Stanley Medical College Hospital.
Further, referring to the State Cabinet’s decision to release all seven life convicts in the assassination case, Mr. Shunmugasundaram said: “The decision was taken on September 8, 2018. Today, we are completing two years. Deciding to release me but refusing leave is like granting final prayer but denying interim relief.”
On the other hand, Additional Public Prosecutor R. Prathap Kumar told the court that the Governor was yet to take a decision on releasing the convicts. As long as they remain to be prisoners, they must abide by the rules, he said and pointed out that the government was not averse to granting them leave in accordance with the rules.
He also said that Perarivalan was being monitored at the prison hospital and that he was doing well on medication. “His health condition is stable. The hospital visits are avoided now only due to fear of COVID-19 and we have taken all safety measures to prevent the spread of the disease inside the prison,” he added.