Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Cabinet on Sunday recommended to Governor Banwarilal Purohit to release all the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case by invoking his powers under Art 161 of the Constitution, which gives the Governor the authority to pardon someone proved guilty in court.
A resolution to this effect was adopted by the Cabinet at its meeting headed by Chief Minister K. Palaniswami. “This will be sent to the Governor immediately. You can see our urgency by the fact that the Cabinet met on a Sunday,” fisheries minister D. Jayakumar told reporters at the Secretariat shortly after the two-hour Cabinet meeting in the evening.
“The Governor has to necessarily accept the Cabinet recommendation, he has no other choice”, said the minister when asked if there could be some delays or hiccups in the Raj Bhavan. “We have used Article 161 and recommended to the Governor on that basis. Supreme Court interprets the law and its direction is of vital importance”.
The seven convicts have been in jail for the last 27 years.
