Rajoana death row case: Supreme Court to hear commutation plea on October 28

Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh

Supreme Court will hear on October 28 a plea filed by Balwant Singh Rajoana, a death-row convict in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, seeking commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment. The Centre has opposed the plea, citing the prevailing situation in Punjab.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, told a bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath that the government had objections to Rajoana’s demand and that, considering the prevailing situation in Punjab, it would not be conducive to take such a decision.

Following the Centre’s stand, the Supreme Court said it would now hear Rajoana’s plea on its merits. The bench, also comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar Singh, listed the matter for October 28 after the Centre sought time to prepare its submissions.

Mercy petition pending since 2012

Rajoana has sought commutation of his death sentence primarily on the ground of the prolonged delay in deciding his mercy petition, which has been pending before the President since 2012. His legal team has argued that the extraordinary delay violates his fundamental rights and warrants conversion of the death sentence into life imprisonment.

The mercy petition was filed on Rajoana’s behalf by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). His execution had been scheduled for March 31, 2012, but was stayed shortly before the scheduled date.

In 2019, the Union government had communicated that the death sentence of one Sikh prisoner could be commuted to life imprisonment as part of measures linked to the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. However, the proposed commutation of Rajoana’s sentence was not ultimately implemented.

Rajoana, a former Punjab Police constable, was convicted for his role in the August 31, 1995 bombing outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh, in which then Chief Minister Beant Singh and 16 others were killed. He was identified as the backup bomber in the attack.

A special CBI court sentenced Rajoana to death in July 2007, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the sentence in 2010. He has remained in custody for nearly three decades, including many years on death row.

The Supreme Court had earlier declined to commute his death sentence in 2023, while directing the competent authority to deal with the pending mercy petition. The latest hearing will now focus on Rajoana’s fresh plea seeking commutation based on the prolonged delay in deciding his case.