New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ordered the release of A.G. Perarivalan, who has spent over 30 years in jail as a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
“I have just come out. It has been 31 years of legal battle. I have to breathe a bit. Give me some time,” Perarivalan said immediately after release.
Visuals of #Perarivalan celebrating after the Supreme Court ordered his release. #PerarivalanRelease pic.twitter.com/CZQ2Zqvqed
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Perarivalan was 19 years old when he was arrested in 1991. He was accused of having purchased the batteries that were used in the bomb that killed Rajiv Gandhi that year.
In its May 1999 order, the top court upheld the death sentence of four convicts – Perarivalan, Murugan, Santham and Nalini.
On February 18, 2014, the top court commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan to life imprisonment, along with that of two other prisoners – Santhan and Murugan – on grounds of an 11-year delay in deciding their mercy pleas by the Union government.
“I clearly believe there is no need for capital punishment. Not just for mercy…many justices including Supreme Court chief justices have said so and there are many examples. Everybody is human,” Perarivalan said on Wednesday, with his mother Arputhammal and other family members by his side.
Perarivalan had moved the top court seeking suspension of his life sentence in the case till the Multi Disciplinary Monitoring Agency probe is completed.
A Supreme Court bench of Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice B.R. Gavai on Wednesday, May 18, invoked powers under Article 142 of the constitution. Article 142 empowers the apex court to exercise its jurisdiction and pass a decree or order “for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it.”
“State cabinet had taken its decision based on relevant considerations. In exercise of Article 142, it is appropriate to release the convict,” the bench said.
The bench further said that the inordinate delay by the Tamil Nadu governor in exercising his powers under Article 161 of the constitution can be subject to judicial review, LiveLaw has reported.
LiveLaw has reported on the legal dispute that the case witnessed over who is an appropriate authority to decide a remission plea – the President or the Governor.
On March 9, the top court had granted bail to Perarivalan while taking note of his long incarceration and no history of complaints when out on parole.
In April, the Supreme Court had said it was wrong for the governor of Tamil Nadu to refer the remission plea to the President despite the state cabinet already having made a recommendation in the case.
In the last hearing of the case, in which the Supreme Court had reserved judgment, the Union government defended the Tamil Nadu governor’s decision to send the mercy plea to the President.
“So, according to you, the power to grant pardon is exclusively that of the President… Well, in that case, pardons granted by Governors throughout the history of this nation across States are all null and void?” Justice B.R. Gavai had asked the Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj.