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Madras HC reserves orders on Rajiv assassins' plea

The Madras High Court today reserved orders on the petitions filed by the four condemned prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case seeking to set aside the order of the Tamil Nadu governor rejecting their clemency petitions.

After hearing both sides, Justice K Govindarajan reserved the orders on the petitions filed by Nalini, Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, who were sentenced to death in the case. The judge directed the government to circulate the entire file to the court.

When the petitions came up for hearing today, senior counsel K Chandru submitted on behalf of the accused that the Supreme Court, in several verdicts, had held that the President/governor while exercising their power under Articles 72/161 of the Constitution should necessarily go by the act and the advice of the council of ministers. This power cannot be exercised on their own, but only on the advice of the council of ministers. In this case, this had not been followed.

On behalf of the state government, additional advocate general T R Rajagopalan submitted that the government had followed due procedure in sending the file to the governor and that the home ministry had sent the entire file regarding the clemency petitions, along with the material facts, to the governor.

He further revealed that the chief minister had signed the file under Article 163 (3) of the Constitution. There was no need for advice from the council of ministers for the governor to decide on clemency petitions. The business rules of the government also did not contemplate any such advice.

Chandru countered this stating that in the Bommai case, it has been held by the Supreme Court that mere placing of facts or materials was not enough and the government should necessarily render its advice to the governor.

UNI

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