Supreme Court urges expedited hearing of mercy plea in Beant Singh assassination case

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Supreme Court on Monday directed the office of President Droupadi Murmu to decide on the mercy petition of death-row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana within two weeks. Rajoana was convicted for his role in the 1995 assassination of Punjab's then Chief Minister Beant Singh.

Despite the case being scheduled for today, no representative appeared for the Union of India, and the bench was convened specifically for this matter. The court noted that during the previous hearing, the case had been adjourned to allow the Union to consult the President's office regarding the timeline for deciding the mercy petition. In light of Rajoana’s death sentence, the court instructed the Secretary to the President to present the matter before the President, requesting a decision within two weeks.

The court further stated that if no decision is made within this timeframe, it will consider Rajoana’s request for interim relief. The case has been scheduled for another hearing on December 5. Earlier in September, the court had asked both the Centre and the Punjab government to respond to the issue.

Beant Singh, along with 16 others, was killed in a bomb blast at the civil secretariat entrance in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. Rajoana was sentenced to death by a special court in July 2007. In March 2012, a mercy petition was filed on his behalf by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee under Article 72 of the Indian Constitution. Last May, the Supreme Court had rejected a plea to commute his death sentence and instructed the competent authority to address his mercy petition.