A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, P Sathasivam, today granted them mercy, rejecting the Centre's view that the convicts did not deserve it.

The Centre's lawyer, Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati, had said there was "not a word of remorse" in the convicts' petition for mercy."

They were leading a disciplined life, entertaining and educating inmates, so there is no agony, torture or dehumanizing effect due to delay," he said.

The lawyer for the convicts argued that "agony and torture need not be physical injuries.

"On January 21, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentences of 15 convicts, announcing that "inordinate and inexplicable" delays in carrying out executions were grounds for reducing their original punishment.

Santhan, Perarivalan and Murugan were convicted in 1998 for Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991.

Their mercy petition was sent to the President of India, the last stage in the process of appeals, in 2000 and was rejected 11 years later.

Their hanging was stayed in 2011 on the orders of the Madras High Court. -- NDTV