{"id":186915,"date":"2022-05-28T19:00:13","date_gmt":"2022-05-28T13:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=186915"},"modified":"2022-05-28T16:39:32","modified_gmt":"2022-05-28T11:09:32","slug":"the-supreme-courts-judgment-on-pardoning-powers-of-the-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/the-supreme-courts-judgment-on-pardoning-powers-of-the-governor\/","title":{"rendered":"The Supreme Court’s Judgment on Pardoning Powers of the Governor – Explained, pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
For\u00a07PM Editorial<\/strong>\u00a0Archives click\u00a0HERE <\/a>\u2192<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Introduction<\/h5>\n

The Suprme Court recently ordered the release of A G Perarivalan, one of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The Supreme Court exercised its special powers under the <\/span>Article 142<\/b> of the Constitution to order the release. <\/span>The order came 24 years after Perarivalan was sentenced to death in the case by a lower court. The case holds immense significance as it has given<\/span> more clarity on the scope of the pardoning powers of the Governor under Article 161 <\/b>of the Indian Constitution.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the background of the issue?<\/h5>\n

Perarivalan was arrested in June 1991, weeks after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bomb attack at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991. <\/span>Perarivalan was sentenced to death by a lower court in January 1998 after being convicted under IPC section 302 (murder) read with section 120B (criminal conspiracy). The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in May 1999.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2014, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment citing long pendency of the mercy petition<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

What was the case before the Supreme Court?<\/h5>\n

Subsequent to commutation, Perarivalan had <\/span>submitted a mercy petition to the Governor of Tamil Nadu<\/b>\u00a0in 2015 seeking release under Article 161 of the Constitution.\u00a0<\/span>After failing to receive a response, he moved the Supreme Court.<\/span><\/p>\n

In September 2018, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet recommended the release of all seven convicts, including Perarivalan. <\/span>The Governor, however, didn’t act on the recommendation<\/span>. In July 2020, Madras High Court reminded the Governor that the Constitution had not prescribed a time limit<\/strong> for the Governor to make a decision\u00a0<\/span>only \u201cbecause of the <\/em><\/span>faith and trust attached to the Constitutional post.<\/b><\/em>\u201d The HC warned that it might be forced to intervene.<\/span><\/p>\n

In February 2021, the Governor\u2019s office forwarded the State Government\u2019s recommendation to the President. Since then, the issue has been pending with the President.<\/span><\/p>\n

The State government had granted parole to Perarivalan in May 2021 which was subsequently extended on \u201chealth grounds\u201d. The Supreme Court granted him bail on March 9, 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Union Government has contended that the only President had the exclusive power to grant remission in cases pertaining to Section 302 (murder) of the IPC.<\/span><\/p>\n

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About Article 161<\/b>:<\/span><\/p>\n