New Delhi: Supreme Court on Wednesday has granted bail to AG Perarivalan, convicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. AG Perarivalan has been in jail for more than 30 years. He had filed an application in the Supreme Court saying that the order of the Tamil Nadu government to release him is not being approved by the Governor and the Central Government.
A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai observed the submission that the convict has been in prison for more than 30 years and his conduct inside the jail and during the time of parole has been good.
The top court was hearing the plea of 47-year-old Perarivalan looking for suspension of his life sentence for the case till the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) probe is finished.
Gandhi was killed the night of May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, distinguished as Dhanu, at a poll rally.
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Fourteen others, including Dhanu herself, were additionally killed. Gandhi's death was most likely the first case in the country of suicide bombing which had killed a high-profile leader.
In May 1999, the top court had maintained the death sentence of four convicts - - Perarivalan, Murugan, Santhan, and Nalini.
On February 18, 2014, the top court had commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan to life imprisonment, alongside that of two other prisoners - - Santhan and Murugan - - on the grounds of an 11-year delay in deciding their mercy pleas by the Center.
The Tamil Nadu government allowed Nalini, one of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, to go on parole for one month. In this case, his ailing mother had repeatedly urged the court. Special Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah informed the Madras High Court that the state government has granted one-month simple parole to Nalini and she will now be able to visit her ailing mother Padma. Nalini is currently lodged in the Special Women's Jail in Vellore.
(With PTI inputs)