Supreme Court sets march 18 deadline for centre on Rajoana's mercy plea decision

The Supreme Court on Monday granted the Centre a final chance to take a decision on the mercy plea of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh’s assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana, failing which it said it would hear his petition for commutation of the death sentence on its merits.

Court's Directive to the Centre

“We will grant you time by way of last chance. Either you take a decision or we will hear on merits,” a bench presided over by Justice B R Gavai told Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre. The bench, also comprising Justices P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan, scheduled the next hearing for March 28 and added, “If you can decide by then… well and good…”

Background of Balwant Singh Rajoana's Case

Rajoana, convicted for the assassination of Beant Singh and 12 others on August 31, 1995, was sentenced to death in 2007 by a special CBI court. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee filed a mercy petition on his behalf in March 2012.

In September 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs wrote to Punjab proposing the commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, but the proposal was never implemented.

Rajoana's Request for Immediate Disposal

In September 2020, Rajoana moved the Supreme Court requesting that his long-pending mercy petition be taken up for immediate disposal and that the home ministry’s 2019 proposal be implemented. The court then directed the Centre to make a decision.

The Government subsequently filed an affidavit stating that it “has decided to defer taking any decision on the mercy plea,” as it “has a serious potential of compromising the security of the nation or creating a law and order situation”.

Legal Representation and Delays

On May 3, 2023, the Supreme Court rejected Rajoana’s plea and left it to the Centre to decide on the mercy plea at an appropriate time. He then filed a fresh plea. Appearing for Rajoana, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said nothing had happened since the last hearing in November 2024, when the court gave the Centre four weeks to decide on the mercy petition.

Rajoana's Long Incarceration

“Your lordship granted so much time. They have done nothing… From the time of Justice S A Bobde being Chief Justice, the last five years this has been going on,” he submitted. The senior counsel pointed out that Rajoana has been in jail for 29 years, with 15 of those years on death row.

Mehta responded that the case was related to the murder of a chief minister and involved significant sensitivities, requesting the court to grant an additional four to five weeks. The court agreed to provide further time, subject to the condition that a decision would be made by the next hearing date.

(Except for the headline, nothing has been changed by All India News Network in the PTI copy.)