Centre tells Supreme Court that Rajiv Gandhi killers can't be released
Government told the court that the former prime minister's assassins cannot be released and that the President of India has earlier already rejected a proposal to release the convicts.
Published: 10th August 2018 12:05 PM | Last Updated: 10th August 2018 12:05 PM | A+A A-
![15/08/1989 - NEW DELHI : Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi addressing the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on the 42nd anniversary of Independence - Express Photo]](https://images.newindianexpress.com/uploads/user/imagelibrary/2018/8/10/w600X300/RajivGandhi60a_15-02_15_49_50.jpg "Rajiv Gandhi, India's 6th Prime Minister was assassinated on 21 May 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. (Express file photo)")
Rajiv Gandhi, India's 6th Prime Minister was assassinated on 21 May 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. (Express file photo)
NEW DELHI: Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that it is opposing the release of Rajiv Gandhi's killers as it will set a very dangerous precedent. The case has already been decided by judiciary and executive and will lead to international ramifications by other such criminals in future.
Submitting a three-page affidavit, government told the court that the former prime minister's assassins cannot be released and that the President of India has earlier already rejected a proposal to release the convicts.
“Assasination of Rajiv Gandhi was the most heinous and gruesome crime, the brutal act brought the Indian democratic process to a grinding halt in as much as the general election to the Lok Sabha and assemblies in some state had to be postponed and that is why the perpetrators do not deserve any leniency,” reads the affidavit adding that Tamil Nadu had been informed of the decision on April 18.
It further states that in pursuance of section 435 of Criminal Procedure Code do not concur to the proposal of Tamil Nadu government for grant of further remission of sentence to seven convicts.
The affidavit came in response to the Supreme Court asking the government to explain its stand on Tamil Nadu's 2016 decision to release the seven convicts of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The seven convicts are serving life terms.
The Tamil Nadu government's decision was challenged in the Supreme Court, following which the court asked for the Centre's opinion.
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991, around seven years after his mother Indira Gandhi was gunned down by her bodyguards in New Delhi.
Rajiv Gandhi died after a suicide bomber approached him at a political rally in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur. Investigations later revealed that the Sri Lanka-based militant organisation Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was behind the assassination.
