Rajiv Gandhi assassination: SC unhappy with delay on Perarivalan’s remission

NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed unhappiness over delay in executing the Tamil Nadu government’s recommendation for remission of sentence awarded to AG Perarivalan, convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The recommendation is pending with the Governor for over two years as the government is waiting for a larger conspiracy angle to be probed. 

Perarivalan was awarded the death penalty in 1991 for his involvement in the conspiracy to assassinate the former Prime Minister. He was charged with providing a 9-volt battery to co-conspirator Sivarasan, which was used in the explosive device that killed Rajiv Gandhi. In 2014, the apex court commuted his sentence to life imprisonment. 

On Tuesday, a bench comprising justices L Nageswara Rao, Ajay Rastogi and Hemant Gupta asked the additional advocate general for TN, Balaji Srinivasan, to find out why the Governor Banwarilal Purohit had not decided on the recommendations of the State government. Srinivasan informed the Court that the matter before Governor was that of a larger conspiracy, and that he was awaiting a report from the CBI.

‘After 20 yrs, still waiting for replies to rogatory letters?’

Additional Solicitor General for India KN Nataraj told the court that the investigation on the angle of a larger conspiracy was spread over the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka, and that the CBI was awaiting replies to its letters rogatory. “The larger conspi racy probe i s pending for 20 years and is ongoing. Still, you are at the stage of getting replies to rogatory letters?” asked Justice Rao.

‘We don’t want to exercise jurisdiction, but we are not happy with how the recommendation has been pending before the Governor for two years,” the bench noted. Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan cited the Nilofer Nisha case, which is related to the same remission notification, wherein the court exercised its powers under Article 142 of the Constitutionto release the prisoners. Sankaranarayanan further stated that grant of remission was the prerogative of the Governor and is not under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Soon after, Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu urged Governor Banwarilal Purohit to initiate steps to release the seven convicts in the case.