Beant Singh assassination: SAD chief urges Centre to set free Rajoana as a ‘humanitarian gesture’

The Supreme Court had on Friday asked the Centre to take a decision before January 26 regarding Rajoana’s plea which sought commutation of his death penalty in the assassination case.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday urged the Centre to release Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted for the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, as a humanitarian gesture. Badal also said that all Congress party leaders, including chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, should support Rajoana’s release. The SAD chief also said that setting Rajoana free would be in consonance with Centre’s commitment to commute the death sentence into life imprisonment as a special gesture to the Sikh community on the eve of the 550th Parkash Utsav of Shri Guru Nanak Dev.

Rajoana, a former constable of the Punjab police, was convicted for his involvement in the bomb blast outside the Punjab civil secretariat which killed Beant Singh and 16 other people in 1995. (HT File Photo)

“I request the union govt to set Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana free as a humanitarian gesture. He has served nearly 2 life terms in prison. All Cong leaders including Punjab CM @capt_amarinder should also back the release of Bhai Rajoana,” Badal wrote on Twitter.

The Supreme Court had on Friday asked the Centre to take a decision before January 26 regarding Rajoana’s plea which sought commutation of his death penalty in the assassination case. Rajoana, a former constable of the Punjab police, was convicted for his involvement in the bomb blast outside the Punjab civil secretariat which killed Beant Singh and 16 other people in 1995. He has been serving time in jail for over 25 years.

Rajoana had approached the top court in 2019 complaining about the delay on the government’s part to process his mercy petition, which was filed in 2012 with the then president of the country. The Supreme Court had also questioned the government on December 4 last year over delay in sending the proposal for commuting his death sentence to the President. The top court further instructed the government to inform it about the date the authority would send the proposal in this regard to the President under the Constitution's Article 72.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who is appearing for Rajoana, argued that his client’s mercy petition was pending since 2012. “This court has held that the death sentence of a person, if delayed for over eight years, can be commuted. He has been in jail for 25 years,” Rohatgi added.

Meanwhile, the Union home ministry said a decision on Rajoana’s mercy petition was put on hold as the appeals filed by other co-accused in the case, were pending before the Supreme Court. Additional solicitor general KM Nataraj, who is appearing for the government, assured the top court that a decision will be taken and the file processed by the home ministry will be sent to the President. “Competent authority is looking into the file. We will try to do it by then,” he said.

(With agency inputs)