SC Grants Centre Till March 18 To Decide On Rajoana's Mercy Plea

If no decision is taken by the next date, the court said it will decide the case on merit, says the apex court

- Abraham Thomas

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday gave a "last chance" to the Centre to decide by March 18 on the long-pending mercy plea of Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the 1995 assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.

If no decision is taken by the next date, the court said it will decide the case on merit.

Rajoana has been in prison for 29 years, of which 15 years have been spent on death row following his conviction in 2007. He has claimed that the Union home ministry took a decision to commute his death sentence to life in 2019, but the Centre has maintained that the issue is "sensitive" and requires extensive consultation with several agencies. A bench headed by Justice Bhushan R Gavai, which granted four weeks to the Centre on November 25 last year, on Monday said: "We will grant you time by way of last chance. Either you take a decision or we will hear the matter on merits."

Posting the matter on March 18, the bench, also comprising Justices PK Mishra and KV Viswanathan added: "We will hear on merits on March 18. By then, if you can decide, well and good. It will facilitate us."