The Petitioner has filed
a writ petitions, under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, which has been
filed either by the convicts, who were awarded death sentence or by their
family members or by public-spirited bodies like People’s Union for Democratic
Rights (PUDR) based on the rejection of mercy petitions by the Governor and the
President of India.
In all the writ
petitions, the main prayer consistently relates to the issuance of a writ of
declaration declaring that execution of sentence of death pursuant to the
rejection of the mercy petitions by the President of India is unconstitutional
and to set aside the death sentence imposed upon them by commuting the same to
imprisonment for life. Further, it is also prayed for declaring the order
passed by the Governor/President of India rejecting their respective mercy
petitions as illegal and unenforceable.
The Honorable Supreme
Court held that death sentence of a condemned prisoner can be commuted to life
imprisonment on the ground of delay on the part of the government in deciding
the mercy plea. In a landmark verdict that can come as a relief to many death
row convicts.
Giving life term to 15
death row inmates, including four aides of forest brigand Veerappan, the apex
court also ruled that a death convict suffering from mental insanity and
schizophrenia cannot be hanged.
It overruled its own
verdict in Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar’s case in which it
had held that delay in deciding mercy plea cannot be a ground for commutation
of death sentence.
The Court said Death
sentence in such cases can be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of
their mental illness. The judgment may have implications in various cases,
including the petitions filed by three death row convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case who have challenged the President’s rejection of their mercy
plea less than three years ago. Framing guidelines on disposal of mercy
petitions and execution of death sentence, a bench headed by Chief Justice P.
Sathasivam ruled that convicts given death sentence must be informed about the
rejection of their mercy pleas and should be given a chance to meet their
family members before they are executed.
It also held that
solitary confinement of a prisoner, including death row convict, is
unconstitutional and it should not be allowed in the prisons. The bench
gave its verdict on a batch of petitions filed by 15 death row inmates seeking
its direction for commutation of their sentence to life term on the grounds of
delay in deciding mercy plea and mental illness. It also said that
execution of death sentence should be carried out only 14 days after rejection
of the mercy plea. The apex court also said that the prison authorities
must provide legal aid to prisoners facing death sentence so that they can
approach courts for commutation of their sentence on the ground of their
illness and delay in deciding mercy plea by the government.
Pronouncing its judgment
on 13 petitions filed by the 15 convicts whose execution of sentence had been
stayed by the apex court, the three-judge bench clarified that its directions
be implemented in all cases whether a person has been convicted under IPC or
the anti-terror law. The issue of communication of rejection of mercy plea
assumes importance in view of the controversy surrounding the execution of
Parliament attack case convict Mohd Afzal as there was allegation that his
family members were not properly communicated about the dismissal of his plea
and subsequent hanging.
Earlier, a two-judge
bench in April 2013 had held that long delay in disposing of mercy pleas by the
President or the governor of persons convicted under anti-terror laws or
similar statutes cannot be a ground for commutation of death sentence. The
April 12, 2013 ruling was pronounced while rejecting Bhullar’s plea for
commutation of sentence on ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea. At that
time, there were over 20 convicts facing execution.
Later on, an apex court
bench had granted relief to a condemned prisoner M.N. Das who had sought
conversion of his death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in
deciding his mercy petition. Justice Sathasivam, before taking over as CJI, had
said that there was a need for “authoritative pronouncements” by a larger bench
or a Constitution Bench on issues like mercy pleas to avoid conflicting views
by smaller benches.
The 15 death row inmates
on whose pleas the apex court delivered its verdict are sandalwood smuggler
Veerappan’s aides and others. The other death row convicts included Suresh,
Ramji, Gurmeet Singh, Praveen Kumar, Sonia and her husband Sanjeev, Sundar
Singh and Jafar Ali convicted in various cases. While Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet
Singh and Jafar Ali are lodged in prisons in Uttar Pradesh, former Haryana MLA
Ralu Ram Punia’s daughter Sonia and her husband Sanjeev are jailed in Haryana.
Praveen is in a Karnataka jail and Sundar Singh is an inmate of a prison in
Uttaranchal.Sonia and Sanjeev were awarded death penalty for killing eight
members of her family, including her parents and three children of her brother
in 2001.Gurmeet Singh was convicted for killing 13 of his family members in
1986. Jafar Ali murdered his wife and five daughters. Suresh and Ramji killed
five of their relatives.
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