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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Court asks Centre to file affidavit on pending mercy pleas

Court asks Centre to file affidavit on pending mercy pleas

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published Published on Nov 15, 2011   modified Modified on Nov 15, 2011
-The Hindu
 
With a view to laying down guidelines for disposal of mercy petitions, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to file a comprehensive affidavit giving details of all mercy petitions filed by death row convicts pending before the President of India and the Governors of various States.

A Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhaya, while granting four weeks to the Additional Solicitor-General Harin Raval for filing the details, appointed former Union Law Minister and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani and senior advocate T.R. Andhyarujina to render assistance in this case.

The Bench asked the ASG to provide details regarding the date of conviction; the date on which mercy petition was sent to the Union Home Ministry and date on which it was sent to the President and similar information in respect of mercy petitions pending before the Governors.

The Bench asked the ASG to furnish the details to the two lawyers by December 16 and directed the matter to be listed for final hearing in January, 2012.

The Bench passed the order while hearing Devender Pal Singh Bhullar's petition pleading for commutation of his death penalty into life imprisonment on the ground of delay in the rejection of his mercy plea by the President. Bhullar was sentenced to death on August 25, 2001 for carrying out a bomb attack on September 10, 1993 on the then Youth Congress president M.S. Bitta.

Expanding the scope of this petition, the Bench said it was more concerned about those convicts who could not afford to come to the court or were not aware of their legal rights. The Bench said it wanted to ensure that all the convicts, irrespective of whether they were in a position to put pressure through their supporters or had the means to approach the judiciary time and again, were treated alike by the authorities and got uniform benefit, if any.

Earlier senior counsel K.T.S. Tulsi submitted that the President while rejecting the mercy plea of Bhullar did not take into account the fact that he was mentally ill. Quoting Law Commission's report he wanted that all death cases should be decided by a five-judge Constitution Bench


The Hindu, 16 November, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2631482.ece


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