The Supreme Court has refrained from entertaining the plea by Balwant Singh Rajoana, a sympathizer of the Babbar Khalsa militant organization, for the reduction of the death penalty given against him to life imprisonment for the murder of the then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995.
The bench presided over by Justice Bhushan R Gavai thought it wise to, before coming to any conclusion, state that they first required clarification on the status of the petition for mercy that has been filed by Rajoana, which is still with the Central government.
In the course of the trial, when senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Rajoana, applied for his client’s temporary release. But the bench, also comprising Justices P.K. Mishra and K.V. Viswanathan, intervened to point out that there was a need to know the status of the mercy plea. “Let them (the Centre) decide, and we can then hear a challenge if there is one,” the bench said.
M/s Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General for the Centre, acknowledged that the mercy petition may still be pending consideration by the President and asked for additional time to check the status. Even Advocate Nupur Kumar, who has been appointed as counsel for the Punjab government, prayed to be heard in the case and allowed to state her party’s case. Therefore, the bench set the matter for further hearing on November 18 to give an opportunity to the center as well as the state government of Punjab to state their stand.
This came after a Supreme Court ruling on September 25 to reconsider the Rajoana’s petition after the court had not made any call to direct the Centre on the issue for a year now. His release poses various political and national security concerns due to Rajoana’s connection with the Babbar Khalsa militant Sikh separatist group that was believed to have been involved in violent actions during the Punjab problem.
Its release has ignited the hornet’s nest that could pose serious problems for the victims’ families and for the change in the political panorama of Punjab, which has many fearing that the old sentiment for Khalistan would re-emerge.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates