While Yakub Memon hangs on to life by sheer persistence, the Supreme Court today dismissed the curative petition on its verdict that converted former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's killers' death sentences into life terms. 


The central government last week told the Supreme Court that no mercy could be shown to the killers of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi as it opposed the Tamil Nadu government's move set free seven convicts by granting them remission of sentence.


Opposing the Tamil Nadu government's plea to release the seven convicts, Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the constitution bench of Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit that "our former prime minister was killed by these people. There was a conspiracy to kill him in which foreign nationals were also involved. What mercy could be shown to them."


Appearing for the other victims of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, Ranjit Kumar stated his stand while opposing the plea by senior counsel Ram Jathmalani appearing for one of the convicts V. Sriharan alias Murugan and Rakesh Dwivedi appearing for the Tamil Nadu government.

The constitution bench was hearing a reference by three judge bench on the question whether after the commutation of death sentence into life imprisonment, could the state government further grant remission of sentence to release the Rajiv Gandhi assassins.