Three men from Tamil Nadu convicted for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi will not hang, the Supreme court reiterated today.

On February 18, the Supreme Court said the three men, Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, would not hang but will serve life terms because of an 11-year delay in a decision on their mercy petitions.

The Centre had challenged this in its review petition, and said that the issue should have been decided by a judge of a Constitution bench.

The top court said there was no merit in the petition.

Four other convicts including Murugan's wife Nalini Sriharan are serving life terms.

The seven people have spent over 20 years in jail. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991 by a suicide bomber from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.