New Delhi: In a severe blow to the Tamil Nadu government, the Supreme Court held on Wednesday that the state has no power to order the suo motu release of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case — Murugan, Santhan, Periarivalan (whose death sentence was commuted to life) and that of Nalini, Robert Pius, Jayakumar and Ravichandran, serving life terms, by granting remission.
Last year the court had stayed their release on a petition by the Centre that the TN government had not consulted it before passing the release order in exercise of its remission powers. The Centre said since the case was probed by the CBI, it alone could grant remission.
A five-judge Constitution Bench comprising Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justices Ibrahim Kalifulla, A.M. Sapre, Pinaki Ghose and U.U. Lalit, in a 258-page verdict, held that no suo motu power of remission is exercisable under Section 432(1) CrPC.
It said it can only be initiated on an application by the person convicted and the ultimate order of suspension or remission should be guided by the opinion of the presiding officer of the concerned court. The bench said the validity TN’s February 19, 2014 release order will be considered afresh by another three-judge bench in the light of principles laid down.
