Rajiv killers' plea comes up before SC today

January 30, 2014 09:36

The plea of three death convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, to commute their death sentences to life imprisonment keeping in mind delay of more than 11 years in deciding their mercy petitions by the President, cones up before the Supreme Court on Thursday.

At the last hearing, an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam had rejected the Centre's plea seeking to postpone the hearing to another day after senior advocate Ram Jethmalani appearing for the condemned prisoners -- Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan -- said he suspected that the government is trying to delay the case.

"I have a strong suspicion that they want to take time in the case so that they can file review petition (on apex court verdict holding that delay in deciding mercy plea can be a ground for commuting death sentence)," Jethmalani said.

Additional Solicitor General Siddharth Luthra also said that the Centre is considering for seeking review of the recent apex court verdict in which it held that inordinate and inexplicable delay by government in deciding mercy plea of death row convicts can be a ground for commuting their sentence.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Djokovic struck on head by water bottle while signing autographs

World number one Novak Djokovic required medical attention after being struck on the head by a water bottle following his second-round win over France's Corentin Moutet at the Italian Open on Friday.

Neeraj Chopra finishes second in Doha Diamond League

Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra finished second at the Doha Diamond League meeting javelin throw event as his big final effort of 88.36m fell short by two centimetres of Jakub Vadlejch's winning effort in Doha on Friday.

In Pictures - Gill, Sudharsan hit centuries as GT ease past CSK

IMAGES from the IPL 2024 match between Gujarat Titans vs Shubman Gill at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.

Mani Shankar Aiyar's 'Pak atom bomb' remark sparks row

Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks on Pakistan sparked a political row on Friday, with his party quick to dissociate itself from the comments while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party latched on to them, accusing the Congress of...

Kejriwal walks out of Tihar on 21-day bail, but can't go to office

Embattled Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of the Tihar Jail on Friday evening, hours after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in a money laundering case to enable him to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections, in a...