Supreme Court Defers Balwant Singh Rajoana s Plea for Death Sentence Commutation in Punjab CM Assassination Case, Denies Interim Relief Without Full Hearing
The Supreme Court, on November 4, postponed the hearing for Balwant Singh Rajoana, a 57-year-old Babbar Khalsa member and death row inmate, to November 18. A bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and K.V. Viswanathan stated that they would deliberate on the possibility of relief after examining the case in detail.
This petition, filed under Article 32, seeks the commutation of Rajoana's death sentence, citing an "extraordinary" delay of 1 year and 4 months in deciding his pending mercy plea before the President of India. Representing Rajoana, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi labeled this delay as “shocking,” highlighting that Rajoana has been continuously detained for 29 years, primarily for his involvement in a 1995 bombing incident. Justice Gavai, in response, asked if the Punjab Counsel had replied to the court’s prior notice, only to learn that the report was delayed due to a vacation. Justice Gavai granted an additional two weeks for Punjab to submit its response.
Rohatgi argued for interim relief, pointing out that Rajoana has been on death row for 15 years and that his mercy petition remains unresolved despite similar cases being commuted to life imprisonment. Rohatgi added that Rajoana, after nearly three decades in prison, is "a finished person" and implored the court to grant temporary release, emphasizing that his prolonged detention without mercy petition resolution breaches Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta strongly opposed any interim relief.
Rajoana’s petition contends that the extensive delay in processing his mercy plea infringes on his right to life under Article 21, as he has endured over 17 years as a death row convict, much of it in isolation. Rajoana’s conviction, upheld by the Punjab & Haryana High Court, was tied to his involvement in a deadly 1995 bombing that killed then-Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and others, allegedly carried out in retaliation for anti-Sikh incidents and Operation Bluestar. While co-accused Jagtar Singh Hawara's sentence was commuted to life, Rajoana did not appeal and has refrained from challenging the court’s verdict.
Despite a 2012 death warrant, a stay was issued following a clemency plea by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee. The government later indicated plans to commute Rajoana's sentence as part of a humanitarian gesture but has not acted upon this due to procedural delays and security concerns.
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