‘Nod for early release of AIADMK men given after due legal process’
CHENNAI : Clarifying the position of Governor Banwarilal Purohit on the approval given for the premature release of three AIADMK men who were undergoing life sentence for setting ablaze an agricultural college bus killing three students in Dharmapuri 18 years ago, the Governor’s office on Tuesday said he approved the recommendation of the State government for the release of the convicts only after considering all legal issues involved.
“After being satisfied that these life convicts will be absorbed by local society without any disturbance and based on the grounds that the SC had observed that the deaths had taken place in a state of mob frenzy and that the convicts have been in prison for 13 years, orders were issued approving their premature release under Article 161 of the Constitution,” a Raj Bhavan communication said.
Recalling what happened during the past nine months regarding the premature release of life convicts to mark the birth centenary of the late Chief Minister MG Ramachandran, the release said a G.O was issued on February 1 to release 1,858 life convicts who had served five years of their term. However, on directions from the Raj Bhavan, a revised G.O was issued on May 3 setting the condition that the convicts should have undergone 10 years of their term.
Following this, separate files were submitted for 1,627 life convicts. The Governor returned the file relating to the three convicts urging government to reconsider the recommendation. However, the government reiterated the release of these convicts.
Thereafter, the Advocate-General, Chief Secretary and Home Secretary met the Governor and pointed that the three convicts had no intention to kill and that they set fire to the bus in a state of mob frenzy. On the directions of Governor, the Advocate-General gave his legal opinion along with the observations of the SC in the case pertaining to them.
MDMK to stage demo for 7 convicts’ release
Chennai: MDMK will stage a demonstration on November 24 to urge the State government to take steps to secure the release of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. A party release said the Governor had released the three convicts in the Dharmapuri bus burning case. They brutally murdered three girl students. At the same time, the Governor had not taken a decision on the release of seven convicts, who had been in prison for the last 27 years.