SC to hear Rajoana’s plea seeking commutation of death sentence

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to re-examine the plea of Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the assassination case of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, seeking commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment. About 16 months ago, the apex court had dismissed one such petition.

A bench headed by Justice B R Gavai issued notice to Rajoana on the plea filed by him and sought responses from the Centre and the Punjab governments.

The petition has been filed on the ground that the Central government has so far failed to take a decision on the mercy petition filed by it on March 25, 2012.

Rajoana, convicted in the Beant Singh murder case in 1995, has been in jail for the last 28 years awaiting his sentence. On August 31, 1995, the then Chief Minister Beant Singh and 16 others were killed in a suicide bomb blast in front of the main gate of the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh.

Rajoana was convicted and sentenced to death by a special court in the case in 2007. Rajoana’s mercy plea has been pending for more than 12 years.

On May 3, 2023, the apex court had dismissed the plea for commutation of sentence to life imprisonment and asked the Centre to decide on the mercy plea “as and when it deems necessary”.