Supreme Court releases Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of six remaining Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts, including Nalini Sriharan and R P Ravichandran, who are currently serving life sentences.
FollowThe Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of six remaining Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts, including Nalini Sriharan and R P Ravichandran, who are currently serving life sentences.
A bench of justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna gave the verdict on the petitions filed by Nalini and other accused seeking premature release. To note, the Tamil Nadu government had given its approval for the premature release of the killers of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The state government said that its 2018 advice for the remission of their life sentences is binding upon the governor.
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The state government had, in two separate affidavits, told the Supreme Court that it had considered mercy petitions of seven convicts in the case in a cabinet meeting held on September 9, 2018, and resolved to recommend the governor for remission of their life sentences by invoking Article 161 of the Constitution.
Nalini, Santhan, Murugan, AG Perarivalan, Ravichandran, Robert Payas and Jayakumar were sentenced to life terms and have spent over 23 years in jail. Both Nalini and Ravichandran have been on parole from December 27 last year till date, as sanctioned by the state government under the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982, based on their request.
While Ravichandran is lodged in the Central Prison in Madurai and has undergone 29 years of actual imprisonment and 37 years of imprisonment, including remission, Nalini has been incarcerated in a special prison for women in Vellore for over 30 years.
On September 26, the top court sought replies from the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government on a plea filed by Nalini and Ravichandran seeking their premature release. Both challenged the June 17 order of the Madras High Court, which rejected their pleas for early release and cited the apex court judgment directing the release of co-convict Perarivalan.
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