Ready to release Perarivalan if Union govt has nothing to argue: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, May 4, said that the President’s decision on the release of Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict AG Perarivalan will not have any bearing on its decision in his plea for pardon. Hearing Perarivalan's plea seeking the suspension of his life sentence, a bench of Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice B Gavai said that the Governor is bound by the state’s decision and sought Union government’s final response on the case by next week.

“We will pass the order to release him from jail as you are not ready to argue the case on merits,” the Supreme Court said. “The question is about the power of the Governor and not about the President's decision on it,” the bench added, and said that it will have to look into whether the Constitution allows the Governor to forward state decisions to the President, and what the Governor could've done in this situation.

The question, the Supreme Court said, is whether the Governor should have taken a decision on Perarivalan’s plea on his own, or is it allowed under the Constution to refer the issue to the President. The Supreme Court also observed that Perarivalan’s conduct in jail was good, and that he is being discriminated against under Article 14 of the Constitution (right to equality).

As the Union government defended the Governor’s actions, saying that he is allowed to send forward decisions to the President, the court asked why the Union government was defending the Governor's actions. The court pointed out that the Governor can take a decision contrary to the Cabinet and send the matter to the state, but the State has to defend the Governor, not the Union government.

The bench remarked that if the Union government had nothing else to argue in the case, the court can pronounce orders for Perarivalan’s release immediately.

“We cannot shut our eyes when there is a violation of the Constitution. It is our Bible. Nobody is above law. There are certain powers conferred to dignitaries, but the working of the Constitution cannot come to a stall,” the judges said. The case has been listed for further hearing on May 10.

The top court was hearing the plea of 46-year-old Perarivalan seeking suspension of his life sentence in the case till the CBI-led Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) probe is completed. The MDMA is conducting an enquiry if there was a larger conspiracy as ordered by the Jain Commission report. The Jain commission of inquiry in the assassination of the former prime minister has recommended a probe into larger conspiracy by the MDMA and it required monitoring or tracking of absconding suspects and the role of Sri Lankan and Indian nationals in the case.

Perarivalan was granted bail by the Supreme Court in March this year after noting that he has spent almost three decades in prison. In November 2021, the CBI had told the apex court that the Tamil Nadu Governor has to take a call on the grant of remission to Perarivalan, and that Perarivalan is not the subject matter of further investigation. The court had also expressed unhappiness over the pendency of Perarivalan’s plea over the years with the Tamil Nadu Governor.

Perarivalan was jailed for procuring nine-volt batteries, which were allegedly used in the improvised explosive device (IED) that had killed Rajiv Gandhi. However, in 2017, the CBI official who had recorded his statement said that he had failed to record the confession that Perarivalan was unaware of the purpose of the two batteries he was asked to purchase. He also expressed remorse that Perarivalan languished in jail for two decades.