Can HC review Prez decision to reject mercy petition of death row convict?
Satya Prakash
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 29
Can a high court review President’s decision rejecting mercy petition of a person awarded death penalty by the Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice on the Centre’s petition challenging a Delhi High Court verdict commuting death sentence of Sonu Sardar, who was given capital punishment by the top court. The President had dismissed his mercy plea under Article 72 of the Constitution.
Sonu Sardar was convicted of killing five members of a scrap dealer’s family in Chhattisgarh in November 2004 and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction and the sentence.
However, after a petition challenged the President’s dismissal of his mercy petition, a Division Bench of Delhi High Court commuted Sardar’s death sentence to Life Imprisonment last June.
A Bench of Justices GS Sistani and Vinod Goel of the Delhi High Court had allowed Sardar’s petition seeking quashing of orders passed by the President and Chhattisgarh Governor rejecting his mercy plea, and commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment citing delay and improper exercise of power as grounds.
“The question which would arise for consideration is as to whether a High Court would have jurisdiction at all, to entertain a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution to review the decision of the President of India under Article 72 of the Constitution in regard to a matter where the Supreme Court of India had finally confirmed the death sentence,” the Centre said in its petition to the Supreme Court.
The Centre wondered if a high court could reverse a decision taken by both the Supreme Court and the President, both of who concluded that the circumstances of the case required death sentence for the convict.
