'Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?': Supreme Court Asks Centre In Balwant Singh Rajoana's Plea To Commute Death Sentence

The Supreme Court today (September 24) heard the petition filed by Balwant Singh Rajoana, Babbar Khalsa terrorist, seeking commutation of the death sentence awarded to him in the Punjab CM Beant Singh assassination case. He is seeking commutation on the grounds of the delay in considering the mercy petition pending before the President of India since 2012.Appearing for Singh, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, submitted before a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria that Rajoana has been incarcerated for more than 29 years."This man has been on death row for 15 years. So, when I came to your lordship in the earlier petition, your lordship said no, he has not moved the mercy petition. The Gurudwara Committee has moved..With great respect, this is contrary to the provisions. The provisions say it does not matter who moves; it should be considered. It is a matter of Article 21 and 433 [CrPC]. Your lordship finally said, so much time has gone by, they should decide it sometime. This was said two and a half years ago," Rohatgi added.Rohatgi remarked that nothing had happened so far and therefore, he had filed another one in 2024. In the last order passed in this petition, in January, a special bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice KV Viswanathan had given one last opportunity for the Union to decide his mercy petition. It was stated by the Court that if the Union fails to do so, the plea will be finally decided by the Court.Today, Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, appearing for the Union, requested time to file the present status report. Rohatgi responded that this writ has been petition for the past 8 months. He said: "He is sometimes in solitary confinement, I don't know if he is in his senses or not. One does not know what is going on."He referred to the Bhullar's case in which the Court had commuted the death penalty of the 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict due to the delay of eight years in disposing of his mercy petition and his mental illness. "In Bhullar's case, he was sentenced to death, and the petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court. In curative, the Bhullar's case was commuted to life, and today, Bhullar is out. I don't know if I will be out but if this death has to gone, commutation must happen and if commutation happens, we are bound to be out today after 30 years."Justice Mehta responded that, as per the Rajasthan Jail Rules, if a person has committed terror-related offences, they are not eligible for parole, considering the serious nature of offence. He said: "I don't know about the Punjab rules, but in Rajasthan, you would not be out because these are exceptions under the prison rules." Justice Nath inquired how Bhullar had been released from jail. Reportedly, Bhullar's application for premature release has been rejected by the Delhi Government many times, the latest in January last year.Rohatgi clarified that his application was commuted years ago, and he is bound to be out anytime soon. But all he is asking in Rajaona's case is not to leave him on death row. He said: "Your lordship has said repeatedly, leaving it on death row for more than two years or three years, is sufficient to invoke Article 21. I was convicted in 2007."Rohatgi also pointed out that a review has been filed regarding the earlier petition filed by Rajaona alleging inordinate delay in deciding his mercy petition. On May 3, 2023, a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice BR Gavai (now CJI) disposed of that plea saying that the "competent authority" may deal with the mercy petition. The present petition was subsequently filed in 2024 based on a fresh mercy petition.Rohatgi remarked that the Union keeps referring to the security of the nation as the reason for not deciding the case and questioned how one person's release would impact the security of the nation. ASG responded that this is a serious issue because it led to riots and deeply impacted the law and order situation. On this, Justice Mehta asked: "Question is why did you not hang him till now? Who is to be blamed for that? At least we would not have stayed his execution."The Court will hear the matter on October 15, and clarified that the matter will not be adjourned at the account of the Respondent.Detailed backgroundOut of 15 accused persons named in the FIR, Balwant Singh Rajoana along with 08 others, were put to trial and convicted for the aforesaid offences. In contrast, others were sentenced to life imprisonment. Along with Rajoana, co-accused Jagtar Singh Hawara, who was reportedly the mastermind behind the operation, was also sentenced to deathAt the same time, co-accused Shamsher Singh, Gurmeet Singh, and Lakhwinder Singh were awarded life imprisonment. The verdict was delivered inside the high-security Burail jail in Chandigarh. In total, 15 were convicted.The assailant was one Dilawar Singh, a police officer, who along with two other...

'Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?': Supreme Court Asks Centre In Balwant Singh Rajoana's Plea To Commute Death Sentence

Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

"Question is why did you not hang him till now? Who is to be blamed for that? At least we would not have stayed his execution," SC said.

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