comScore
  • The Supreme Court orders the early release of all 6 prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case

    National
    The Supreme Court orders the early release of all 6 prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case

    Digital Desk: On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled
    that all six of the defendants in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who were
    sentenced to life in jail should be released.



    Nalini, PR Ravichandran, Robert Pias, Suthendraraja,
    Jaykumar, and Sriharan were all released as a result of the ruling.



     



    The
    decision was made by the bench of justices BR Gavai and BV Nagarathna while
    taking into account the circumstances surrounding the release of A G
    Perarivalan, another defendant in the case, in May of this year using the
    court's exceptional power under Article 142 of the Constitution.



     



    The
    highest court observed that the remaining offenders met the requirements set
    forth for Perarivalan.




    The
    court's panel noted that the Tamil Nadu cabinet had recommended their release
    on September 9, 2018, and that the governor, before whom the convicts had filed
    remission requests, would be bound by that recommendation.



     



    The bench also highlighted that the inmates had served more than
    three decades in prison and that their behaviour there was satisfactory, noting
    that they had all been judged to have excellent behaviour and that they had all
    earned different degrees while they were inside.



    On the evening of May 21, 1991, a female suicide bomber at a
    political rally in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, killed Rajiv Gandhi, the former
    prime minister of India.