Chennai: As the day marked the commencement of 30 years since the arrest of A G Perarivalan, one of the seven life convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss renewed his demand for the release of all the convicts.
Reiterating his demand for their immediate release, the PMK chief, in a statement here said Tamilnadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit’s long delay in acting on the State Cabinet’s recommendation for their release was condemnable.
He also urged the State Government, which had been stating that it was committed for their release, to exert pressure on the Raj Bhavan for their release.
“Thursday marked the beginning of 30 years since Perarivalan was arrested in the case and his parents have been longing for his release. But the Governor has been delaying the decision despite the State Cabinet recommending their release under Article 161 of the Constitution”, he noted.
Observing that the seven life convicts have lost 30 years of their life in prison, Dr Ramadoss said the Governor should realise this and take a quick decision.
It may be noted that one of the convicts Nalini moved the High Court seeking her release but her plea was rejected.
Nalini had told the court that she was found guilty in the case in 1998 and was sentenced to death by the trial court. The conviction as well as the sentence were confirmed by the Supreme Court on 11 May, 1999.
Later, she sought pardon and the then Governor commuted her death sentence to life imprisonment on 24 April, 2000 by exercising powers under Article 161 of the Constitution.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had also informed the Assembly that the state government was committed for the release of all the seven life convicts.
He had said that based on the verdict of the Supreme Court, the State Cabinet adopted a resolution recommending their release under Article 161 of the Constitution and the same has been forwarded to the Governor. It was upto the Governor to take a decision, he added.
The seven convicts V Sriharan alias Murugan, T Suthanthiraraja alias Santhan, A G Perarivalan alias Arivu, Jayakumar, Robert Payas and Nalini, were in Jail for the last 30 years and the demand for their release has gained momentum time and again with various political parties urging the State government to exert pressure on the Governor to act on the State Cabinet resolution.
The State Cabinet had on September nine, 2018, adopted a resolution recommending to the Governor to release all the seven convicts under Article 161 of the Constitution.
The decision to release all the seven convicts was taken in line with the September six, 2018 Supreme Court order.
Based on the Apex Court order, which had asked the Governor to consider the mercy plea of Perarivalan for premature release, the Cabinet had recommended to the Governor to release all the convicts under Article 161 of the Constitution.
A Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Naveen Sinha and K M Joseph had on disposed of a plea filed by the Centre opposing the State government’s proposal for the release of the convicts, and asked the Governor to consider the mercy plea of Perarivalan.
The Raj Bhavan had on 15 September, 2018 said a just and fair decision would be taken in accordance with the Constitution. It said this was a complex case and involves examination of legal, administration and Constitutional issues and the papers would be processed scrupulously.
“The case is a complex one and involves the examination of legal, administrative and Constitutional issues”, the Raj Bhavan said.
“All efforts will be taken to process the papers scrupulously. Necessary consultation may be carried out, when required, in due course”, it said and added that the decision would be taken in a just and fair manner and in accordance with the Constitution.
A social media campaign seeking the release of Perarivalan, was also launched with the hashtag #ReleasePerarivalan on Twitter and Facebook.
The campaign sought his release on the grounds of the ill health of his parents who were now 78 and 72 years old, as well as his own health issues in prison.
The campaign also points to the sworn statement before the Supreme Court by V Thiagarajan, the then CBI SP who had interrogated Perarivalan, where the CBI had omitted the part of his confession that he had ‘absolutely no idea’ of the
purpose for which the two nine-volt batteries he bought would be used.
Perarivalanâs mother, Arputhammal, who had been exploring all avenues and also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah praying for her son’s release, appealed to the Governor to take a call on Perarivalanâs release.
She said her husband was also admitted to hospital a couple of months back. “At least in our last days, we want our son to be with us. We donât know what kind of support he will be able to give us. But at least release him so that we can spend our last years of our life with him”.