The Tamil Nadu government Wednesday wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking its opinion on releasing seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
The letter stated that while the state has already decided to release the seven convicts, it is necessary to seek the Centre’s opinion under Section 435 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The Jayalalithaa led government had sent a similar note in February 2014 to the then UPA government after the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of three convicts Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan citing inordinate delay by the executive in deciding their mercy plea. A day after the court order, on February 19, 2014, the state suo motu ordered the release of all seven life convicts, but the Centre rushed to the Supreme Court and got their release stayed.
The latest letter, written by the poll-bound state’s Chief Secretary K Gnanadesikan to Rajiv Mehrishi, secretary in the MHA, said that the Tamil Nadu government had received petitions from all seven convicts Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas and Nalini requesting that they be released since they had spent 24 years in prison.
The letter also referred to a writ petition filed by Nalini in the Madras High Court seeking her release. It also mentioned that four of the seven convicts are Sri Lankan nationals.
