The SC has asked the Centre to clarify the status of the mercy plea for the Beant Singh killer by Friday
Balwant Singh Rajoana, sentenced to death for assassinating former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, on Wednesday asked the Centre to update it by Friday on the status of his mercy petition.
In a ruling on May 2, Chief Justice of India U U Lalit said the court had given the Centre two months to take a decision. However, the court has not taken any action.
There was a two-month notice given to you. It has now been two months since the last update. A technical issue was raised by you. Please do not wait for that. Once that direction is passed, the mercy petition must be considered. I cannot force you to make a decision. K M Nataraj, who represented the central government, was told to take action by an additional solicitor-general along with Justices S Ravindra Bhat and J B Pardiwala.
“The two-month time period stipulated in the May 2 order has long expired. However, the bench noted in its order that no decision had been taken by the concerned authorities, according to additional solicitor-general K M Nataraj.
A responsible officer from the department must file an affidavit indicating progress in the matter in the meantime. According to the notice, the affidavit must be filed by Thursday.
Rajaona was convicted of killing Beant Singh in the explosion outside the state civil secretariat that occurred on August 31, 1995. Rajaona served as a constable of the Punjab police until he was suspended in 1996. In addition to 16 people being killed, 16 others were injured. In July 2007, a special court sentenced him to death, and in October 2010, the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the verdict.
