New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking reconsideration of the judgement commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment of three Rajiv Gandhi assassins-Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan. The Centre has contended that there is difference between an ordinary crime and an offence of killing a prime minister of a country and its gravity cannot be lost sight of.
Delay in disposal of mercy petition, it contended, cannot be the only ground for commutation of death sentence. The Supreme Court, had on January 21, commuted the death sentence of 15 convicts to life imprisonment on the grounds of inexplicable inordinate delay in disposal of their mercy petition by President. On February 18, the apex court commuted the death sentence of the three assassins to life imprisonment on account of 11 years delay in disposal of their mercy petition.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, next day, announced in the Assembly to release all the seven convicts in the case as they had already undergone 23 years in jail.
The former prime minister, alongwith 14 security personnel, were killed in a suicidal attack by LTTE militants on May 21, 1991, at an election rally at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. (UNI)
