The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to commute the death penalty of Balwant Singh Rajoana to life imprisonment in the assassination case of then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, reported PTI. Rajona was convicted in the 1995 assassination case and has been in jail for the past 26 years. As per the report, a bench comprising Justices B R Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol said the competent authority will decide the plea of the convict seeking mercy.
Notably, on March 2, the top court had reserved its verdict on the plea of Rajoana after it heard the submissions of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi who appeared for the convict, and Additional Solicitor General K M Natraj.
Rajoana, a former Punjab Police constable, was convicted for his involvement in the explosion that took place outside the Punjab civil secretariat on August 31, 1995, killing Beant Singh and 16 others.
He was sentenced to death by a special court in July 2007.