The Supreme Court may today decide on the release of seven death-row convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.


The issue will be taken up by a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justices Ibrahim Kalifulla, Pinaki Ghose, AM Sapre and UU Lalit.


In February last year, the Supreme Court had commuted the death sentences of three of the seven convicts -- Murugan, Santhan and Periarivalan -- to life terms.


Subsequently, the Tamil Nadu government, exercising its remission powers, had ordered their release along with four other convicts who are serving life terms - Nalini, Robert Pius, Jayakumar and Ravichandran.


The Centre had, however, obtained stay on the convicts' release from the apex court.


The central government had argued before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court that since the case was being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, only it had the power of remission and not the state government.


The three-judge bench had then referred the matter to a five-judge Constitution Bench.