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Rajoana Seeks Modi's Decision On Long-Pending Mercy Petition
Balwant Singh Rajoana is in prison for helping with a bombing in 1995.
The bombing killed former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh and 16 other people.
A court sentenced Rajoana to death in 2007.
His execution was stopped in 2012 after a mercy petition was filed.
In 2019, the government said his sentence would be changed to life in prison.
However, the decision has not been completed.
Rajoana has now written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for a quick decision.
The government previously said security and public order concerns affected its decision.
The Supreme Court later left the mercy petition for the responsible government authority to decide.
Balwant Singh Rajoana has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to decide promptly on his mercy petition.
Rajoana has spent more than 30 years in prison and nearly two decades under a death sentence.
He was convicted for involvement in the 1995 bombing that killed former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh and 16 others.
His execution was stayed in 2012 after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee submitted a mercy petition.
The government announced a proposed commutation to life imprisonment in 2019, but the matter remains unresolved.
- Who
- Balwant Singh Rajoana wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi; the pending petition was submitted by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
- What
- Rajoana requested an early decision on his long-pending mercy petition and death sentence.
- Where
- Rajoana wrote from Patiala Central Jail. The 1995 bombing occurred outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh.
- When
- The letter was dated September 16; the petition has reportedly been pending for about 15 years.
- Why
- He wants the government to resolve the petition after years in prison and under a death sentence.
Rajoana's Position
Government And Court Position
Delay in deciding the petition
Rajoana's Position
Rajoana says the petition has been pending for about 15 years and asks the prime minister to take a decision quickly.
Government And Court Position
The central government has not resolved the petition; the Home Ministry told the Supreme Court in 2022 that it had deferred a decision.
Security concerns
Rajoana's Position
Rajoana questions how he could threaten national security, describing himself as an ordinary person without influential backing.
Government And Court Position
The Home Ministry said a decision could affect national security and law and order in Punjab, according to its 2022 submission.
Commutation to life imprisonment
Rajoana's Position
Rajoana points to the government's 2019 announcement that his death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment and asks why the matter remains unresolved.
Government And Court Position
The Supreme Court in 2023 declined to commute his sentence on the basis of delay and left consideration of the mercy plea to the competent authority.
Key facts
- Prisoner
- Balwant Singh Rajoana, a former Punjab Police constable
- Conviction
- Convicted for involvement in the August 31, 1995 bombing that killed Beant Singh and 16 others
- Sentence
- Death sentence imposed by a special court in 2007
- Execution status
- Execution scheduled for March 31, 2012, but stayed three days earlier
- 2019 announcement
- The government announced that Rajoana's death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment
- Petition status
- The mercy petition has remained unresolved for about 15 years
- Supreme Court position
- In 2023, the Supreme Court declined to commute the sentence because of delay and left the matter to the competent authority
Quotes
Balwant Singh Rajoana
Former Punjab Police constable and death-row prisoner
“I am an ordinary person with nobody behind me or ahead of me. What threat can I pose to the security of the country?”
thestatesman.com
“I request you to take whatever decision you want to take on the petition as soon as possible”
thestatesman.com
Sources
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