Status of pending mercy petitions filed by 33 death row convicts
A long list of convicts in the country face a fate "worse than death". They have been sentenced to death, but for years they have been waiting to know the fate of their clemency petitions.
A long list of convicts in the country face a fate "worse than death". They have been sentenced to death, but for years they have been waiting to know the fate of their clemency petitions.
Here is the status of pending mercy petitions filed by 33 death row convicts in 22 cases.
1. Gurmeet Singh: Convicted in the 1986 murder of 13 people of a family. Submitted mercy petition in 2007.
2. Dharam Pal: Convicted for the 1993 murder of five people, submitted his mercy petition in 2000.
3. Suresh and Ramji: Convicted for the 1996 murder of five people of their younger brother's family. They submitted their mercy petition in 2004. (2)
4. Murugan, Santhan and Arivu: Convicted in the 1991 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Submitted their mercy petition in 2005. (3)
5. Sheik Meeran, Selvam and Radhakrishnan: Convicted in the 1994 Madras courtroom blast case in which one person died. They submitted their mercy petition in 2003. (3)
6. Sattan and Guddu: Convicted for the 1994 murder of six members of a family. Their mercy petition was submitted in 2011. (2)
7. Om Prakash: Convicted for the 1994 murder of three members of his employer's family and for maiming a fourth. He submitted his mercy petition in 2004.
8. Simon, Gnanaprakash, Madaiah and Bilavendra: Convicted for engineering a 1993 landmine blast in which 22 policemen died. They submitted their mercy petition in 2005. (4)
9. Praveen Kumar: Convicted in the 1993 murder of a family of four. He submitted his mercy petition in 2005. The case is pending with the home ministry.
10. Satish: Convicted for the 2001 rape and murder of a girl. He submitted his review petition in 2008. The case is pending in the home ministry.
11. Sushil Murmu: Convicted for his 1996 brutal sacrifice of a nine year old child. He submitted his mercy petition in 2005. The case is pending in the Home Ministry.
12. Mohammed Afzal Guru: Convicted in the December 2001 Parliament attack case. The matter of his clemency is still being examined by the home ministry.
13. Saibanna: Convicted for the 1994 murder of his wife and 18-month-old daughter. He submitted his mercy petition in 2007.
14. Kunwar Bahadur Singh and Karan Bahadur Singh: Convicted for the 1999 murder of five people of one family. Their mercy petition was submitted in 2006. (2)
15. Laliya Doom and Shivlal: Convicted for the 1999 murder of three members of a family. Their mercy petition was submitted in 2005. (2)
16. Jafar Ali: Convicted for the 2002 murder of his wife and five daughters. He submitted his mercy petition in 2006.
17. Sonia and Sanjeev: Convicted for the 2001 murder of her step brother and his family. Their mercy petition was submitted in 2008. (2)
18. Sunder Singh: Convicted for the 1989 case where six members of a family were doused in petrol and set ablaze. The matter of his clemency is still being examined by the home ministry.
19. Bandu Baburao Tidake: Convicted for the 2002 murder of a 12-year-old girl. He submitted his mercy petition in 2008.
20. Bantu: Convicted for the 2003 rape and murder of a girl child. The matter of his clemency is still being examined by the home ministry.
21. Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar: Convicted for the 1993 car bomb assassination outside the Indian Youth Congress office in which nine people died. His mercy petition was rejected by the President in 2011 but the execution is pending as Bhullar has gone to the Supreme Court again.
22. Balwant Singh Rajoana: Convicted for the 1195 assassination of Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. Has refused to defend himself in court and says he does not want clemency. The home ministry last week stayed his execution.