Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case| Union Has No Role To Play In Remission In View Of Perarivalan Judgment, Supreme Court Told

A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and BV Nagarathna passed the order after stating that there wasn't sufficient time today to take up the matter.

"I have to be in a different bench at 2 pm", Justice Gavai said.

During the brief hearing, the Court firstly asked, "Who is for the Union?"

Union has no role to play in the matter in view of the Perarivalan judgment, Senior Advocates Sanjay Hegde, Gopal Shankaranarayanan and Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the petitioners, intervenors and Tamil Nadu Government respectively, told the Court.

The Supreme Court, in May, had ordered release of AG Perarivalan, convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, invoking powers under Article 142 of the Constitution. In that judgement, the Top Court had specifically rejected the Union Government's submission that the President has exclusive power to grant remission is cases pertaining to Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, opining that otherwise, powers of the Governor under Article 161 would be render otiose.

The Bench had reckoned that the State Government is well-within its authority to aid and advice the Governor in pardon/remission pleas pertaining to cases of murder.

During today's hearing, Senior Adv Shankarnarayan informed that Bench that he wasn't on the legal issue but only on paragraph 30 of the said judgement. The Bench then proceeded to adjourn the matter.

The petitioners were pronounced guilty in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by a special court constituted under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1985. Nalini, along with 25 others, was sentenced to death by the TADA Court in 1998. When the matter travelled to the Supreme Court, a Bench headed by Justice K.T. Thomas acquitted 19 convicts, but upheld the death sentences of four of them, including Nalini. Three others were sentenced to undergo life imprisonment. Ravichandran was among them. Nalini's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2000 by the Tamil Nadu government. In 2018, the AIADMK Cabinet recommended the release of the seven convicts, but the Governor refused to authorise this remission.

The Tamil Nadu government recently filed its reply in the special leave petitions by Nalini Srihar and R.P. Ravichandran.

The reply affidavit filed by the State government submitted that it is the competent authority to take decision of the petitioner's pleas under Article 161 of the Constitution. It further stated that the decision of the cabinet dated September 9, 2018 pertaining to recommending the remission of life sentence to the Governor is final.

The reply also added that the though the it is well settled that the aid and advise of the State Cabinet under Article 161 of the Constitution of India made on 09.09.2018 is undoubtedly binding on the Governor, the release of the writ petitioner can happen only after the Government issues an order to this effect upon the Governor's approval.

Further, the reply stated that the state government's recommendation to remit the life sentence of the petitioner was sent the Governor of Tamil Nadu and it has been pending with his office for more than 2 ½ years and the recommendation was finally forwarded by the him to the President of India on January 27, 2021. It still remains undecided by the President for the past one year and 9 months.

Case Title: R.P. Ravichandran v. State of Tamil Nadu represented by Its Chief Secretary & Ors. [SLP (Crl) No. 7536/2022] & S. Nalini v. State of Tamil Nadu & Anr. [SLP (Crl) No. 8178/2022]