New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to file its response within two weeks on the mercy plea of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict in the 1995 Beant Singh assassination case, who has sought commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment citing prolonged delay.
A Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Vijay Bishnoi questioned the delay in filing a counter-affidavit and made it clear that no further extension would be granted.
Rajoana, a former Punjab Police constable, has spent over 29 years in prison awaiting execution. He was sentenced to death in 2007 for his role in the assassination of then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and 17 others in a bomb blast outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995.
During the hearing, the court told the Centre that failure to respond would leave the allegations made by the petitioner “uncontroverted,” urging it to place all relevant material on record through an affidavit.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Rajoana, informed the court that a mercy petition filed on his behalf by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in March 2012 remains pending for more than 13 years. He pointed out that the Supreme Court had earlier directed the authorities to take a decision on the plea.
The petition argues that the inordinate delay in deciding the mercy plea has caused severe mental and physical distress, warranting commutation of the death sentence. It cites legal precedent, including the Devender Pal Singh Bhullar case, where delay was considered a valid ground for relief.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier maintained that the mercy petition could not be processed as it was filed by the SGPC and not by Rajoana himself, and that a decision should await the outcome of appeals involving other convicts. It had also cited concerns related to national security and potential law-and-order implications.
The apex court has repeatedly urged the Centre to take a final decision on the matter. Earlier, it had warned that it would proceed to decide the case on merits if the government failed to act within stipulated timelines.
The case continues to draw attention due to the prolonged pendency of the mercy plea under Article 72 of the Constitution and the broader legal question surrounding delays in death penalty cases.
