A.G. Perarivalan, one of the life convicts in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination case, has urged Governor Banwarilal Purohit to expedite the decision on his mercy plea.
The convict, lodged in the Puzhal central prison, wrote to the Governor a few days after the Supreme Court directed the Tamil Nadu government last Tuesday to file a report on the status of his plea for pardon. The apex court had called for the status report after expressing its displeasure over the lack of progress made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on determining whether the assassination of the former Prime Minister was the culmination of a “larger conspiracy”.
In his letter dated January 25, 2020, Perarivalan said he had submitted an application under Article 161 of the Constitution on December 30, 2015, and since no decision was taken on it, the Supreme Court had, on September 6, 2018, directed the authority concerned to decide on the mercy petition. Accordingly, the Council of Ministers of Tamil Nadu, on September 9, 2018, made a recommendation to the Governor that remission of sentence be granted.
The convict said he had received no intimation from the Raj Bhavan on the status of his mercy petition, despite having sent several reminders. In the backdrop of the Supreme Court asking for the status report, the life convict appealed to the Governor to consider the ‘unique’ aspects in his case and ensure that the decision/recommendation of the Council of Ministers was duly acted upon and communicated to the apex court.
Among the aspects of his case that he highlighted to the Governor were the points that he had been incarcerated for 29 years, including 24 years in solitary confinement; he had exhibited good conduct throughout his time in prison; and he had completed undergraduation and postgraduation in Computer Applications and obtained eight Diploma and Certificate courses while in prison, among others.
Perarivalan specifically mentioned that the then Superintendent of Police, CBI, V. Thiagarajan, who was part of the Special Investigation Team that probed the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, had admitted in an affidavit before the Supreme Court that he did not record his exculpatory statement.
