CHENNAI: After the TN home department filed a petition seeking removal of certain observations inadvertently attributed to TN Advocate General (AG), the Madras High Court on Wednesday modified its order rejecting a petition by Nalini, one of the seven convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, for premature release without the consent of the Governor.
The home secretary said the premature release fell within the ambit of Article 161 of the Constitution and the same was in the exclusive domain of the State government. Therefore, it was the Governor who could exercise the power to remit the sentence of life imprisonment based on the Cabinet resolution dated September 9, 2018. The contention, however, was recorded as if the reference made by the Governor to the President was correct and Governor had rightly done it, he pointed out.
Another contentious point related to the conviction of Nalini under 302 of the IPC and other Acts.
The home secretary said no such submission had been made on behalf of the department and the same had been recorded inadvertently. He sought the removal of the inadvertent observations from the order.
The first bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N Mala modified the order as prayed for. The petition by another convict, Ravichandran, for premature release without the consent of the Governor was also rejected by the court.