Rajeev Gandhi assassination: Convict appeals for early release

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New
Delhi,
Aug
12:
Nalini
Sriharan,
serving
life
sentence
in
the
Rajiv
Gandhi
assassination
case,
has
moved
the
Supreme
Court
seeking
her
early
release.

Nalini
has
challenged
the
June
17
order
of
the
Madras
High
Court,
which
rejected
her
plea
for
early
release,
and
cited
the
Supreme
Court
judgement
ordering
the
release
of
co-convict
AG
Perarivalan
while
seeking
to
be
set
free,
news
agency
PTI
reported.

The
high
court
had
on
June
17
rejected
the
petitions
of
Nalini
Sriharan
and
Ravichandran,
both
convicted
in
the
former
Prime
Minister
Rajiv
Gandhi
assassination
case,
to
order
their
release
without
even
the
consent
of
the
state’s
governor.

Don’t
have
special
power
like
SC:
HC
tells
Nalini,
Ravichandran
accused
in
Rajiv
murder
case

“The
high
courts
do
not
have
the
power
under
Article
226
of
the
Constitution
to
do
so,
unlike
the
Supreme
Court
which
enjoyed
the
special
power
under
Article
142,”
the
high
court
had
said
while
rejecting
their
pleas.

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,
and
said
the
Tamil
Nadu
governor
ought
not
to
have
sent
the
“binding”
advice
made
by
the
state
cabinet
for
his
release
to
the
president.

The
top
court
had
said
the
advice
of
the
state
cabinet
is
binding
on
the
governor
in
matters
related
to
commutation/remission
of
sentences
under
Article
161
of
the
Constitution.

Under
article
142,
the
top
court
may
issue
any
verdict
or
order
necessary
to
provide
“complete
justice”.

Convict
in
Rajiv
Gandhi
assassination
case,
Nalini
attempts
suicide
in
jail

Rajiv
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.
In
its
May
1999
order,
the
Supreme
Court
had
upheld
the
death
sentence
of
four
convicts
Perarivalan,
Murugan,
Santhan
and
Nalini.

However,
in
2014,
it
commuted
the
death
sentence
of
Perarivalan
to
life
imprisonment
along
with
those
of
Santhan
and
Murugan
on
the
ground
of
an
11-year
delay
in
deciding
their
mercy
petitions.
Nalini’s
death
sentence
was
commuted
to
life
imprisonment
in
2001
on
the
consideration
that
she
has
a
daughter.