Mon Nov 25 08:50:08 UTC 2024: ## Supreme Court to Hear Rajoana’s Mercy Plea After Four-Week Delay
**New Delhi:** The Supreme Court will hear the mercy plea of Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, after a four-week delay. The court had previously directed the President’s secretary to consider Rajoana’s petition within two weeks, but later stayed this order at the request of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, citing the sensitivity of the case and the need for further information from other agencies.
Rajoana, sentenced to death in 2007, has argued that his mercy petition has been pending with the President for 12 years. He is seeking a commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment, citing the excessive delay. His lawyers argue that the prolonged uncertainty constitutes a violation of his right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Last year, the Punjab police rejected his request for commutation.
The Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, warned that if the petition wasn’t considered within two weeks previously, they would consider granting Rajoana interim relief. The government, represented by Solicitor General Mehta and Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, explained that the case requires further information from various agencies. The court will now revisit the matter after a four-week adjournment. Rajoana has spent 29 years in prison, including 17 years on death row, for his involvement in the 1995 assassination of Beant Singh, in which 16 others also perished.
First Piper 