Balwant Singh Rajoana was given a death sentence for the murder of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh who died in a bomb explosion in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. In 2012, Rajoana filed a mercy petition before the President but it hasn’t been decided to date.
The Supreme Court bench led by Justice L Nageswara Rao, while hearing the parole case of one Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict AG Perarivalan today, expressed dissatisfaction over the huge delay in clearing the file sent to the governor for his consent or disapproval of the prayer or remission.
Another question raised in the petition was that if both parties agree to decide the claims afresh by such an independent arbitrator appointed by the court, whether the court can remand back the matter to the same arbitrator who delivered the award.
It is said elections were conducted in Bihar, while by-polls were held in different states in November 2020 by not consulting the Health Ministry which thereby led to violating the COVID-19 norms.
According to the petitioner, CBI had filed criminal cases against him and his wife under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and they had been tried before the Court of Special CBI Judge, Siliguri, Darjeeling, West Bengal.