The court said the bail would be subject to the satisfaction of the trial court's conditions and the Perarivalan has to report to the local police at Jolarpettai during the first week of every month.
Digital Desk: The Supreme Court today granted bail to the 1991 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict, AG Perarivalan, who has been in jail for the last 32 years.
"Taking into account that the applicant has spent 32 years in prison, we are of the considered view that he is entitled to be released on bail," a bench led by Justice LN Rao said.
The bench comprising Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice BR Gavai passed the order on a special leave petition filed by Perarivalan in 2016 against the refusal of the Madras high court to entertain his plea seeking commutation of sentence. The bench informed that Perarivalan is on parole at present and was given parole thrice earlier, LiveLaw reported.
Perarivalan was arrested in 1991 when he was a 19-year-old teen, accused of buying two nine-volt batteries used to trigger the belt bomb that killed Rajiv Gandhi.
On May 21, 1991, Gandhi was assassinated at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, at a poll rally.
The court said the bail would be subject to the satisfaction of the trial court's conditions and the Perarivalan has to report to the local police at Jolarpettai during the first week of every month.
The Centre resisted the grant of bail as additional solicitor general KM Narataj submitted that Perarivalan had already availed the benefit of a mercy petition once, and his death penalty was commuted to a life sentence by the Supreme Court in 2014.
As per sources, the Union government opposed the plea, saying the President is the appropriate authority to decide the request.
The government also claimed that because Perarivalan's death sentence was commuted to a life term because he had cited a delay in deciding his mercy plea, he could not claim more benefits by citing another delay.
As per reports, the SC bench, granting bail, noted that there "are sufficient materials produced to show the acquisition of educational qualifications and skillset by him during his incarceration and his ill-health".
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