Rajiv Gandhi assassination case: Supreme Court frees six killers of India's former prime minister
On May 21, 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Tamil Nadu
The six convicts serving life sentences for the assassination of India’s former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi were set free by the country’s Supreme Court on Friday.The apex court used one of its earlier judgmentof releasingAG Perarivalan, one of the co-convicts,to release the remaining prisoners.
On May 18, the court invoked its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to order the release of Perarivalan, who had served over 30 years in jail.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna said the judgment of Perarivalan is equally applicable in their matter.
"In so far as the applicants before us are concerned, their death sentences were commuted to life on account of delay...We direct that all the appellants are deemed to have served their sentence...The applicants are thus directed to be released unless required in any other case," the bench said.
Two of the convicts—Nalini and Ravichandran—had approached the Supreme Court seeking premature release, citing thePerarivalan judgment.
Both had challenged a June 17 order of the Madras High Court, which rejected their pleas for early release.
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Nalini, Ravichandran, Santhan, Murugan, Perarivalan, Robert Payas and Jayakumar were sentenced to life terms in the case.
On May 21, 1991, the former prime minister was assassinated at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, during an election rally.
In May 1999, the SC had upheld death sentences to four convicts Perarivalan, Murugan, Santhan and Sriharan.
But in 2014, the apex court commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan to life imprisonment along with those of Santhan and Murugan on grounds of delay in deciding their mercy petitions.
Nalini's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2001 on the consideration that she has a daughter.
The Tamil Nadu government has repeatedly supported the early release of convicts and on occasion persuaded the central government to heed their request.
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