Rajiv Gandhi Assassination: Supreme Court To Hear Petition Of Premature Release Of Convicts

The petition pertaining to the premature release was filed back in 2016 by 46-year-old AG Perarivalan, one of the convicts who asked for suspension of his life sentence in the case

India's late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi | (File Photo/ Getty Images)

New Delhi: In a case connected to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the Supreme Court is expected to hear the plea of premature release of seven convicts on Tuesday who are currently serving life imprisonment terms.

Last week, the Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras high court that the case is likely to be listed before the apex court on December 7, according to the Hindu report.

The petition pertaining to the premature release was filed back in 2016 by 46-year-old AG Perarivalan, one of the convicts who asked for suspension of his life sentence in the case till the CBI-led Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) completes its probe on the aspect of a larger conspiracy behind the assassination of the former prime minister.

Meanwhile, in its hearing of the case last year, the Supreme Court sought to know the present status of a recommendation made by the Tamil Nadu Cabinet to the state's governor in September 2018 to release all the convicts under powers granted by Article 161 of the Constitution.

It is to be mentioned that the aforementioned article empowers a governor to pardon a convict in any criminal case.

In its response, the state government had said the governor was waiting for the final report of the MDMA before taking a decision. In its hearing last year, the government further informed that the governor would be taking a call on the remittance petition filed by Perarivalan.

Later the Union home ministry said the governor had gone through the reports available and recommended that the President of India would be the appropriate authority to take a decision on the request of premature release.

On the other hand, the Tamil Nadu government had also filed a counter-affidavit against a similar petition by S Nalini, another convict, stating that she cannot be released without the governor's assent and that the court should dismiss the plea to release her.