The Centre on Tuesday opposed the plea of three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case seeking commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment in the Supreme Court saying that they should not be shown any mercy, reports said.
The three men – Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan – have argued that an exceptional delay in deciding their petition for clemency merits by the President a reduction of their penalty.
Their main contention was that the delay by over 11 years made the execution of the death sentence “unduly harsh and excessive,” amounting to violation of their right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The apex court reserved its order on plea of death convicts in the killing of the former prime minister.
Read: ‘Rajiv Gandhi case convicts deserve death sentence’
The Centre told the SC that the death convicts did not go through torture, agony and dehumanising experience during pendency of mercy pleas.
“There has been delay in deciding the mercy plea but the delay is not unreasonable, unexplainable and unconscionable to commute death sentence,” the Centre’s counsel said.
It is not a fit case for commuting death sentence, the counsel argued.
Their petition came days after the apex court ruled that inordinate delay in deciding mercy pleas and mental illness are grounds to commute death penalties – giving relief to 15 convicts as well as to death row convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar.
Read: SC commutes death sentence of 15 convicts
Reject Rajiv killers mercy plea Centre to Supreme Court
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