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SC raps Centre over delay in deciding Rajoana mercy plea
The Supreme Court criticized the Centre for delaying Balwant Rajoana's mercy petition, stressing that the government must decide on his execution.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that the Centre alone was responsible for the delay in taking a decision on the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a Babbar Khalsa sympathiser on death row for the 1995 assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, and reminded the government that it was for the executive, not the court, to take a call on his execution.
A bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria pressed Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj, appearing for the Centre and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to clarify why the government had neither acted on the mercy plea nor proceeded with his execution.
“Who is responsible for the delay? We did not stay the execution. You had to take a call,” the bench told Nataraj, adding that earlier directions of the court, including one by a bench led by then chief justice UU Lalit in 2022, required the government to decide on the matter.
The issue of Rajoana’s release carries significant political and national security implications. He was linked to the Babbar Khalsa, a militant Sikh separatist group responsible for violent activities during the insurgency in Punjab. His release is a sensitive issue for both the families of terrorism victims and the political dynamics in Punjab, raising concerns about the resurgence of pro-Khalistan sentiment.
Appearing for Rajoana, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi stressed the prolonged incarceration of the 58-year-old convict. “This man has been in jail for 29 years, on death row for 15 years. When I came earlier, your lordships had said that he hasn’t moved the mercy petition himself. With great respect, that is contrary to the provision. The law says it doesn’t matter who moves it. The matter must be considered,” Rohatgi argued.
He added: “I don’t know what will happen, but my lords, if this death has to go, computation must happen, and if computation happens, he is bound to be out today after 30 years.”
Rohatgi further submitted that repeated judicial pronouncements had recognised that keeping a person on death row for more than two or three years violates Article 21 of the Constitution.
“I was convicted in 2007. A review has also been filed recently on the ground that the mercy petitions in my case were filed by the Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, not by me. Therefore, there cannot be deemed to be inordinate delay in disposal. That is contrary to Section 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” he said.
The counsel dismissed the Centre’s argument that the case raised national security concerns. “Sometimes they say it is a matter of security of the state. What has the security of a state to do with one person? This is not an India-Pakistan or some other international issue,” he told the bench.
When the ASG responded that Rajoana was “responsible for killing a chief minister” and that riots followed Beant Singh’s assassination, Rohatgi countered: “Then you should have executed him. Why keep him on death row forever? He has to be dealt with like a human being. He is also a citizen of this country and should be treated equally in law.”
Responding, Nataraj emphasised that the charges against Rajoana were “very serious”. The bench remained unconvinced with the Centre’s stance. While acknowledging the gravity of the crime, the bench observed: “We are not the ones who stayed the execution. The call was yours to take.”
The court then gave ASG Nataraj more time to come back with instructions in the matter but made it clear that no further adjournments would be permitted. “List this matter again on the 15th of October. It is made clear that matter would not be adjourned at the instance of the respondents. Mr Nataraj may come prepared with complete instructions,” the order stated.
Rajoana, a former Punjab Police constable, was sentenced to death in July 2007 for his role in the 1995 car bomb attack outside the Punjab civil secretariat that killed Beant Singh and 16 others. After the high court confirmed the punishment, his execution was scheduled for March 31, 2012, but was stayed three days earlier by the then UPA government following a mercy petition filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
Although the Union home ministry in September 2019 announced that his death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment as part of the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, the order was never implemented.
Since then, Rajoana has repeatedly moved the Supreme Court, arguing that prolonged uncertainty over his fate amounts to cruel and inhuman punishment. His current petition asserts that inordinate delay in deciding a mercy plea is itself a ground for commutation, citing consistent jurisprudence from the apex court.
The Centre and CBI, however, have opposed his plea, citing Punjab’s fragile security environment and concerns that his release could revive separatist sentiment in the state. In May 2024, the Supreme Court refrained from issuing any directions, holding that the issue fell within the executive’s domain.
