Direct Centre to decide on mercy plea of Rajoana, SGPC urges SC

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Wednesday accused the Centre of adopting a 'policy of delay' and urged the Supreme Court to direct the Union government to take an immediate decision on the commutation of the sentences of various Sikh prisoners, including Balwant Singh Rajoana, a death row convict in CM Beant Singh's assassination case.

- Surjit Singh [e-mail]

AMRITSAR:

Addressing the media after the executive committee meeting, the gurdwara body chief Harjinder Singh Dhami said the SGPC has received a fresh message from Rajoana asking for the withdrawal of the petition.

"We condemn the policy of delay being adopted by the Centre in the matter of Rajoana and other Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners). It is discriminatory behaviour towards the Sikh minority. A special resolution was passed urging the Supreme Court to direct the Centre to take an immediate decision on the commutation of Rajoana's death sentence. He has been on death row since 2007," Dhami said.

The SGPC had submitted the mercy plea under Article 72 of the Constitution demanding commutation of the death sentence of Rajoana, convicted of the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995, with the President in 2012. The SGPC has also been seeking the release of other Sikh prisoners, including Devinderpal Singh Bhullar, a 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict.

Dhami stated that Rajoana has asked SGPC to withdraw the petition concerning him and ask the Centre to take a swift decision, as he (Rajoana) no longer sees "any difference between life and death".

The SGPC president further added that the government should not backtrack on its decisions and implement the notification issued during the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in 2019.