Urgent: Supreme Court Issues Final Warning to Centre on Balwant Singh Rajoana’s Mercy Plea – An Emotional Appeal for Justice

The Supreme Court of India has granted the Union government a final extension to decide on the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, who faces a death sentence for his role in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. A Special Bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai deferred the hearing to March 18 after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that the petition is under review by the Union Home Ministry, citing the matter’s sensitivity.

Previously, the Bench had allowed the government additional time but emphasized that this would be the last such concession. The court was responding to a writ petition from Rajoana, challenging the lengthy 12-year delay in processing his plea for sentence commutation. In November, the Supreme Court had urged President Droupadi Murmu to address the mercy petition within two weeks.

However, due to the complexities involved, the petition remained with the Union Home Ministry. The court had earlier refused Rajoana’s request for sentence commutation, deferring to the Executive’s prerogative in such matters. Notably, Rajoana never filed a mercy petition himself; it was initiated by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in 2012.

Rajoana was convicted, along with others, for orchestrating a deadly bomb blast in August 1995, which killed Beant Singh and 16 others. The trial court sentenced him and co-conspirator Jagtar Singh Hawara to death in 2007, a decision upheld by the High Court, although Hawara’s sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. Unlike his co-accused, Rajoana has not appealed the High Court’s judgment.

Original Source: https://assamtribune.com/national/sc-grants-last-chance-to-centre-to-decide-balwant-singh-rajoanas-mercy-plea-1565326
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Publish Date: 2025-01-20 15:51:00