Beant Singh assassination: SC holds its order to Prez secy on Rajoana’s mercy plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (November 18) put on hold its order directing President Droupadi Murmu’s secretary to place before her for consideration the mercy petition of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana, who was sentenced to death in the assassination case of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.

A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai, Justice PK Mishra and Justice KV Viswanathan put its order on hold after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the bench that the order should not be given effect as there are “sensitivities” involved in the matter.

File is not with the President and is with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mehta told apex court

Mehta told the bench that the said file is not with the President and is with the Ministry of Home Affairs and requested the bench that the matter be heard on Friday.

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The bench agreed to the request of Mehta and posted the matter for hearing on Monday.

What did the bench say in its order earlier in the day?

The bench earlier in the day had passed the order saying “In spite of the matter being specifically kept today none appeared for Union of India. The bench assembled only for this case.”

“On the last date the matter was adjourned to enable the Union to take instructions from the office of the President as to by when will mercy plea be decided. Taking into consideration that the petitioner is on a death row, we direct the secretary to the President of India to place the matter before the President with a request to consider the same within two weeks from today,” the bench said earlier in the day.

The apex court earlier on September 25 sought responses from the central government, the Punjab government and the administration of the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Rajoana’s plea seeking commutation of his death sentence.

Rajoana was awarded death sentence by the trial court

The then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh and 16 others were killed in a blast in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. Rajoana and 14 others were convicted by a trial court in 2007 in the case. Rajoana was awarded death sentence by the trial court and it was later confirmed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The apex court last year refused to commute Rajoana’s death sentence and had said that the competent authority could deal with his mercy plea.