Supreme Court today announced its decision to release the six people convicted of the murder of Rajiv Gandhi
New Delhi:
The Congress party called it “unfortunate” and “unacceptable” as the Supreme Court today announced its decision to release the six murderers convicted of the murder of former Prime Minister and Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi.
Commenting on the Supreme Court’s decision, Jairam Ramesh, Congressional MP and Secretary-General in charge of communications, tweeted: “The Supreme Court’s decision to release the remaining assassins of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is completely unacceptable and completely wrong. The Congress party clearly criticizes it and finds it completely untenable.”
He added: “It is deeply regrettable that the Supreme Court has not acted in accordance with the spirit of India in this matter.”
My statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to release the remaining assassins of former Prime Minister Shri. Rajiv Gandhi pic.twitter.com/ErwqnDGZLc
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) Nov 11, 2022
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on 21 May 1991 in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, by a female suicide bomber from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) group from neighboring Sri Lanka.
The Supreme Court ordered the early release of six convicts, including Nalini Sriharan and RP Ravichandran, who were serving life sentences in the case. A bench of judges BR Gavai and BV Nagarathna said the verdict of the highest court in the case of AG Perarivalan, one of the convicted, applies equally to their case.
The six convicts were released by the Supreme Court after 33 years in prison. Of the six released today, Robert Payas, Jeyakumar and Murugan are Sri Lankan citizens.
In May, the Supreme Court used its extraordinary powers to release a seventh convict, Perarivalan. The same order applied to the rest of the convicts, the court said.
In 2000, Nalini Sriharan’s sentence was reduced to life on the intervention of Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi’s wife and former congress president. In 2008, Rajiv Gandhi’s daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, met her in Vellore prison.
The sentences of six more convicts were also commuted in 2014.
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