President returns mercy petitions of Afzal Guru, six others

President returns mercy petitions of Afzal Guru, six others

President Pranab Mukherjee hasreturned seven mercy petitions, including that of Parliamentattack case convict Afzal Guru, for consideration of the UnionHome Ministry.

Official sources said it was a normal procedure for thePresident to refer all pending mercy petitions forconsideration to a new Home Minister after he takes charge.

Since Shinde took charge as a Home Minister on August 1,the seven mercy petitions, including that of Guru's, were sentto Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde for consideration, theysaid.

All these seven mercy petitions were earlier sent to thePresident, incorporating the concerned state government'sopinion and the Home Ministry's recommendation, for finaldisposal.

Both the Delhi government and the Home Ministry hadrecommended that Guru's mercy petition, filed by his wife, berejected by the President, the sources said.

Apart from the seven, five other mercy petitions ofdifferent convicts are being processed by the Home Ministry.

The sources said two other mercy petitions are pendingfor consideration by the President.

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