NEW DELHI, NOV 11
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered premature release of Nalini Sriharan and R P Ravichandran serving life sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Both of them had moved the top court seeking premature release.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna said the judgement of the top court in the case of A G Perarivalan, one of the convicts in the case, is applicable in their matter.
Invoking its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution, the top court had on May 18 ordered the release of Perarivalan, who had served over 30 years in jail.
The bench passed the order allowing convicts Nalini, Santhan, Murugan, Sriharan, Robert Payas, and Ravichandran to walk out of jail.
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.
TN CM Stalin says SC order on Rajiv case underscores Governor’s role
The Supreme Court judgment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case demonstrated that Governors should not put the decisions of elected governments on the back burner, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said on Friday.
Welcoming the release of the six convicts in the Rajiv case, the Chief Minister said, “This judgment as well of the Supreme Court forms the basis that Governors should not put the decisions and resolutions of elected governments in the back burner.”
Stalin said the ruling is historic as it reinforced the cornerstone of democratic principles
பேரறிவாளனைத் தொடர்ந்து, நளினி உள்ளிட்ட 6 பேரையும் உச்சநீதிமன்றம் விடுதலை செய்துள்ளது நாம் நடத்திய வலிமையான சட்டப்போராட்டங்களுக்கும், மனிதநேயத்துக்கும் கிடைத்த வெற்றி!
அரசின் முடிவுகளை நியமனப் பதவியில் இருப்போர் கிடப்பில் போடக்கூடாது என்ற வகையில் மக்களாட்சிக் கோட்பாட்டின் வெற்றி! pic.twitter.com/lisDir178n
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) November 11, 2022
The Chief Minister, also the president of ruling DMK, said that his party had championed the cause of their release while in Opposition too. After assuming power last year, his government urged the Centre to release them, writing to then President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and backed the legal struggle for setting them free.
He said the Governor (Banwarilal Purohit and later RN Ravi) had put the Tamil Nadu government’s Cabinet decision (during the AIADMK regime in 2018) to release the convicts in cold storage. “Continuously, his party-led government exerted pressure on the Raj Bhavan to accord sanction for the release of the convicts,” he said.
‘Unacceptable, completely erroneous’: Congress
My statement on the decision of the Supreme Court to free the remaining killers of former PM Shri. Rajiv Gandhi pic.twitter.com/ErwqnDGZLc
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 11, 2022
The Congress on Friday termed “totally unacceptable and completely erroneous” the Supreme Court order directing the premature release of six convicts serving life sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and said the apex court has not acted in consonance with the spirit of India on this issue.
In a statement, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the decision of the Supreme Court to free the remaining killers of the former prime minister is “totally unacceptable and completely erroneous”.
“The Congress party criticises it clearly and finds it wholly untenable. It is most unfortunate that the Supreme Court has not acted in consonance with the spirit of India on this issue,” he said.
