Tag: Perarivalan

  • SC to hear convict’s plea in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case after three weeks

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, said it will hear A G Perarivalan’s plea seeking the grant of parole after three weeks. Perarivalan is serving life sentence for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

    A vacation bench of justices Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maheshwari took note of the fact that Perarivalan’s lawyer has circulated a letter seeking adjournment of hearing in the case.

    “There is a letter (for adjournment). List (it) after three weeks before an appropriate bench,” the bench said in its order.

    On November 23 last year, the top court had extended Perarivalan’s parole by a week, for undergoing a medical check-up and directed the Tamil Nadu government to provide police escort during his visit to the hospital.

    The CBI, in its affidavit of November 20, 2020, had told the apex court that the Tamil Nadu Governor has to take a call on grant of remission to Perarivalan.

    The CBI-led Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) is conducting a probe on the aspect of larger conspiracy as per the mandate of the Jain Commission report. The CBI, in its affidavit also said that Perarivalan was not the subject matter of further investigation being carried out by the MDMA.

    The top court is hearing the plea of 47-year-old Perarivalan seeking suspension of his life sentence in the case till the MDMA probe is completed.

    On November 3 last year, the top court had expressed unhappiness over the pendency of a plea by a convict seeking pardon in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case for over two years with the Tamil Nadu Governor.

    In its 24-page affidavit, the CBI said it is for the Tamil Nadu Governor to take a call on whether remission is to be granted or not and in so far as the relief is concerned the probe agency has no role.

    “Present petitioner is not the subject matter of the further investigation carried out by MDMA. The further investigation conducted by MDMA is only limited to the mandate provided to it by the Jain Commission Report,” the central agency had said, adding that a progress report by MDMA on further investigation and its status was submitted to the designated court in Chennai.

    The Jain commission of inquiry in the assassination of the former prime minister has recommended a probe into a larger conspiracy by MDMA and it required monitoring/tracking of absconding suspects and the role of Sri Lankan and Indian nationals in the case.

    The CBI had further said that the top court had already on March 14, 2018, dismissed an application by Perarivalan for recall of the May 11, 1999 verdict of the top court, holding him guilty in the case.

    It had said the claim of the petitioner that he is innocent and did not have knowledge about the conspiracy to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi is neither acceptable nor maintainable.

    The top court had earlier asked the counsel for the petitioner, A G Perarivalan, whether the court can exercise its jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution to request the Governor to decide his plea of pardon filed under Article 161.

    Article 161 empowers a Governor to pardon a convict in any criminal case.

    The top court had said, “We don’t want to exercise our jurisdiction at this stage but we are not happy that a recommendation made by the government is pending for two years.”

    The state government earlier told the top court that the Cabinet had already passed a resolution on September 9, 2018, and recommended to the Governor for the premature release of all seven convicts in the case.

    The MDMA was set up in 1998 on the recommendations of the Justice M C Jain Commission of Inquiry which had probed the conspiracy aspect of Gandhi’s assassination.

    Perarivalan’s counsel had earlier said his role was only limited to procuring nine-volt batteries, which were allegedly used in the improvised explosive device (IED) that had killed Gandhi.

    The top court had earlier dismissed a plea of Perarivalan seeking recall of the May 11, 1999, verdict upholding his conviction.

    It had said the material brought on record before it does not inspire confidence to interfere with the verdict in which Perarivalan and three others were initially awarded the death sentence, which was later commuted to life term.

    Perarivalan’s counsel had earlier said that he was just 19 years old when the incident took place and had no knowledge of what he was doing and for what purpose the batteries were purchased.

    Gandhi was assassinated on the night of May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, at a poll rally.

    Fourteen others, including Dhanu herself, were also killed.

    Gandhi’s assassination was perhaps the first case of suicide bombing which had claimed the life of a high-profile leader.

    In its May 1999 order, the top court had upheld the death sentence of four convicts — Perarivalan, Murugan, Santham and Nalini.

    In April 2000, the Tamil Nadu Governor had commuted the death sentence of Nalini on the basis of the state government’s recommendation and an appeal by former Congress president and Rajiv Gandhi’s widow Sonia Gandhi.

    On February 18, 2014, the top court had commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan to life imprisonment, along with that of two other prisoners — Santhan and Murugan — on the grounds of an 11-year delay in deciding their mercy pleas by the Centre.

  • ‘Guv to decide on release of Perarivalan in four days’

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: The Union government on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit would decide on State government’s recommendation for the remission of sentence of AG Perarivalan, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, in three to four days. Taking note of the submission by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, a bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao adjourned the case for four weeks.

    During an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had expressed displeasure over the State governor for not taking any decision on the remission plea of Perarivalan for over two years. The bench had asked the State government to request Purohit to expedite his decision on the State’s recommendations for the remission of sentence of the convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

    Perarivalan had applied to the governor for pardon on December 30, 2015. Almost three years later, in September 2018, the Supreme Court asked the governor to decide the pardon plea as he deemed fit. Three days after that, on September 9, 2018, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet recommended to the governor to remit Perarivalan’s sentence and release him forthwith, but the governor is yet take a call on the same.

    Gandhi was assassinated by a LTTE suicide bomber during an election rally in Sriperumpudur in May 1991. The Bench was hearing a petition filed by Perarivalan seeking release from the prison based on the recommendation made by the TN government. Gandhi was assassinated on the night of May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, at a poll rally. On February 18, 2014, the apex court had commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan to life imprisonment on grounds of a delay of 11 years in deciding the mercy pleas by the Centre.