Beant Singh assassination: Supreme Court reserves verdict in plea by death-row convict to commute sentence

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgment in the plea for commuting the death sentence awarded to Balwant Singh Rajaona, who was convicted for the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister, Beant Singh [Balwant Singh vs Union of India and ors]..A bench of Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol also orally observed today that the continuing failure of the Central government in deciding on the 2012 mercy plea preferred by Rajaona appeared to be contemptuous. ."We will ask the Home Secretary to be present in the next hearing? Mr Nataraj on the face of it, it is contempt, so many decisions of this Court, why have you not decided on the mercy plea. You either reject or accept", Justice Gavai said, addressing Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj..Appearing for Rajoana, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi contended that keeping his client, now aged 56, on death row for long, while a mercy petition remained pending, violated his fundamental rights.He termed this as being discriminatory, since other such convicts had been given the relief sought.In view of the government's delay in taking a decision, Rohatgi also urged the Court to direct Rajoana's release on parole."I submit, we should not wait for them and there should be order in my favour forthwith. This is inhumane. In the alternative, if we are to await their response then I may be released on parole. They can be proceeded against for contempt separately. Lordships may summon the Home Secretary as to why lip service is being paid to top courts orders. Lordships may let me stay in my village," Rohatgi argued..The ASG responded by submitting that until recently, there was no representation from Rajoana regarding the commutation of sentence.He informed that such representations only came only from organisations like the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) until last year. Many organisations had even written against the proposed move, ASG Nataraj added..Rohatgi countered that such arguments were hollow."All their pleas are hollow. Please see the other cases. You have dealt with my representation and then these hollow pleas being raised. To say now that you are deferring it is adding insult to injury, borders on being contemptuous", he argued..Balwant Singh Rajoana has been in jail for over 26 years after he was convicted in the Beant Singh assassination case..His plea for Presidential mercy has been hanging in limbo despite the government having decided over a year ago, in 2019, to spare his life in commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.In a petition to the Supreme Court from his jail cell, Balwant Singh said that his repeated pleas to the government about the fate of his mercy plea were met with silence. He called the delay “inexplicable”..Last March, the top Court had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central government to immediately take a call in the matter. Pertinently, the Court, at the time, had also warned that the concerned Secretary and the CBI Director (Prosecution) would have to remain personally present in future hearings, if the authorities failed to make their decision soon..[Read order]