Rajiv killers: SC stays release of convicts

The apex court has issued notice to state governments asking them whether the Central government's consent is required to release the prisoners.

The court has also directed the state governments to not exercise power of remission to release life convicts till further order.

The Tamil Nadu Government earlier decided to release all seven convicts in  the case.

The apex court had commuted the death sentence in February owing to a long delay (about 11 years) in deciding their mercy petitions.

Rajiv Gandhi, the sixth Prime Minister of India, was killed at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on 21 May 1991. At least 14 others were also killed in the blasts by a suicide bomber - Dhanu- sent by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was a terror outfit fighting for a free land for the ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka. 

The three convicts, Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan, had sought the commutation of their death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in deciding their mercy plea.

The bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam had pronounced the verdict and granted them mercy in Feb.

Santhan, Perarivalan and Murugan are in prison for over two decades.

Murugan's wife Nalini Sriharan's death sentence had been commuted earlier on the intervention of Rajiv Gandhi's widow, Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The Centre had  opposed commuting their death sentence to life imprisonment.

Congres vice-president Rahul Gandhi, son of Rajiv Gandhi, earlier had reacted strongly against the J Jayalalithaa led Tamil Nadu government's decision to release  seven convicts in connection with the killing of  Rajiv Gandhi and said even a prime minister could not get justice in the country.

Gandhi's assassination was carried out by Thenmozhi Rajaratnam, also known as Dhanu, who was found after investigations to be a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber.