“The decision by the Supreme Court to release the assassins of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is highly discouraging,” said Rajya Sabha member and senior politician Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, at the headquarters of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). While some political leaders have welcomed the Supreme Court’s (SC) order letting the remaining convicts of the assassination walk free, many others- primarily the Congress and the BJP- have vehemently criticised the release.
On 17th May 2022, AG Perarivalan, one of the other convicts in the case, was released. The same relief was granted to the remaining six convicts on November 11,referring to the release of Perarivalan..All the convicts had initially been sentenced to capital punishment and in later years, the death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.
Singhvi condemned the release of the six convicts by the SC today by pointing out that the assassination of the former Prime Minister was in cold blood and by deliberate design, and hence the release of convicts in such a case is shocking because it strikes at the very root of our integrity as a nation.
Criticising the SC order, Singhvi said that it sends an undesirable message to the world. He pointed out that the fact that we extend to these killers the benefits of our judicial magnitude, forgetting the nature of their crime is shocking.
While highlighting some of the former judgments related to similar scenarios of releasing convicts, he said there is no blanket guarantee that convicts will be released just because they served a certain period of time in prison. "There is no absolute right to release and each case depends on the context, facts, and individual merits,” he said, placing a specific reference to the SC’s observation in the State of Gujarat v. Narayan case.
Singhvi reiterated that the Union government was not in agreement with this decision. Despite this, the SC placed dispositive weight on the opinion of the state of Tamil Nadu, in favour of releasing the convicts. He pointed out that this is legally erroneous, and listed seven reasons why the Congress feels the SC’s order releasing the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case is wrong.
1. Why did the SC grant leeway to the convicts in such a heinous crime?
Stressing on the word “convicts”, Singhvi raised concern over the release of those who were proven guilty of planning and executing the murder of a former Prime Minister. This is a crime of a very high degree and there seems to be no reason in his opinion, to have them released.
2. How will the SC now refuse similar claims for release by convicts in other cases of murder?
It will be a complicated legal hassle for the courts to now refuse the requests for similar release of convicts in cases of conspiracy and murder.
Read: From 1991 to 2022: Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict Perarivalan’s journey
3. Is preferential treatment permissible?
Singhvi also said that if good conduct, deteriorating health, and acceptable behaviour are valid grounds for the release of convicts, the courts must also release those who have been in prison for longer periods of time, than the said convicts. The release of these convicts alone is partisan, and that is not something Singhvi cites as reasonable or fair.
4. Can the sovereignty and integrity of India be debated?
An attack on the Prime Minister is an attack on the sovereignty and integrity of the country. Singhvi pointed out that such a grave matter needs no debate, and it is shocking to see the convicts in such a crime against the State walk free.
5. Can the SC take sides?
The SC says in its reasoning that though the union government was opposed to the release of the convicts, the Tamil Nadu government supported the petitioners’ claim for release. This was given more weightage by the court. Singhvi points out that the SC must not have given the state of Tamil Nadu precedence over the Centre’s opinion in the matter. The clear and emphatic disagreement of the Centre should have been factored in by the court, according to Singhvi.
6. Would recommendations by states now be binding?
Singhvi also says that in the context of the present SC order releasing the convicts upon the recommendation of the Tamil Nadu state government, all recommendations of states would now be legally binding on the court. This creates a complex legal question of procedure and fairness.
7. Can special powers of the court be invoked thus?
Singhvi also mentioned that Article 142 is invoked only when the SC wants to exercise special powers. This is an unsubstantiated invocation of the special power of the SC because this is a case involving convicts of the assassination of a former Prime Minister, a crime which strikes at the very root of Indian sovereignty.
Singhvi concluded by emphasising that the Congress will resort to available legal remedies, be it revision by a higher bench of the court, or anything else that the law prescribes, to redress the release of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.