SC orders release of six convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case

The Supreme Court on November 11 ordered the premature release of six convicted serving life imprisonment involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The six convicts — Nalini, her husband Murugan alias Sriharan, Ravichandran, Jayakumar, Robert Pais, and Santhan — were were originally sentenced to death. However, their death ;sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.

Nalini and Ravichandran had moved the top court seeking premature release. Both of them had challenged a June 17 order of the Madras High Court rejecting their pleas for early release.

It may be recalled, invoking its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution, the top court had on May 18 ordered the release of A G Perarivalan, one of the convicts, who had served over 30 years in jail.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna said the judgement of the top court in the case of Perarivalan, is equally applicable in the matter of other convicts as well.

"In so far as the applicants before us are concerned, their death sentences were commuted to life on account of delay...We direct that all the appellants are deemed to have served their sentence...The applicants are thus directed to be released unless required in any other case," the bench said.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber of the Tamil Tigers LTTE group.

(With PTI inputs)