Supreme Court reserves order on Balwant Singh Rajoana’s petition seeking commutation of his death penalty

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, March 2

 The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh assassination case convict Balwant Singh Rajoana’s petition seeking commutation of his death penalty on the ground that the Centre failed to take a decision on his mercy petition for a considerably long period.

A three-judge Bench led by Justice BR Gavai reserved the verdict after hearing senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, representing Rajaona, and Additional Solicitor General KM Natraj for the Centre.

Rohatgi argued that keeping Rajaona on death row while sitting over his mercy plea for such a long time violated his fundamental rights. 

Convicted of assassinating Beant Singh in 1995, Rajoana has been in jail for 25 years awaiting his execution. The former Punjab Chief Minister and 16 others were killed in an explosion outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh in 1995.  He was sentenced to death in 2007 by a special court. His mercy petition has been hanging fire for more than eight years.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had said the mercy petition can’t be considered as it was filed by another organisation and not Rajoana himself and that it can’t be decided until the appeals of other convicts were decided by the top court.

Interestingly, Rajoana has not challenged his conviction or sentence. The Bench, however, said the authorities have sent several official communications to Rajoana.

Earlier, the Centre had contested the petitioner’s contention that in 2019 a final decision was taken to commute his death penalty.

The top court – which has been repeatedly asking the Centre to spell out its stand on Rajoana’s mercy petition—had earlier pointed out that the convict has filed a petition under Article 32 which can be taken as an endorsement of the mercy petition.

“We can’t force you to take what decision…but you have to take a decision,” said a Bench led by the then Chief Justice of India UU Lalit had told the Centre in September last year.

Citing Devender Pal Singh Bhullar’s case, the petitioner has claimed that the “Delay caused by circumstances beyond the prisoners’ control mandates commutation of death sentence.” The inordinate delay caused agony and adversely affected his physical and mental health, Rajaona contended.

Maintaining that Pendency of appeals by co-accused has no bearing on Presidential pardon granted to a death-row convict, the Supreme Court had earlier questioned the Centre over delay in sending proposal to the President for commuting Rajoana’s death penalty.