NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has promulgated that 6 convicts in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, to be set at liberty immediately.

The convicts, Murugan alias Sriharan, Nalini's husband, Ravichandran, Jayakumar, Robert Pais, and Santhan, had all received death sentences at the time of their convictions. Their death sentence was then changed to life in prison.

This was ordered by the Supreme Court bench, which was made up of Justices B.R. Gavai and B.V. Nagarathna, while taking into account the case of A.G. Perarivalan, another prisoner who was freed in May. In order to free Perarivalan, the Supreme Court exercised its speial authority granted by Article 142 of the Constitution.

It should be mentioned that the former AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu approved a resolution in 2018 requesting to the Governor that the seven lifers in the assassination case be released under Article 161.

On November 11, a bench of Justices B. R. Gavai and B. V. Nagarathna stated that the prisoners had been incarcerated for more than 30 years and had used that time to complete their education and gain degrees.
All of the prisoners have been fighting for their early release for a very long time. The Governor had been advised to release them by the Tamil Nadu administration. The Governor, who forwarded their files to the President, did not, however, make a decision. After Perarivalan's release, the release delay was contested.

The inmates had protested the delay, citing the Supreme Court's release of co-accused A. G. Perarivalan. They were attempting parity. Invoking the extraordinary powers granted to it by Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court ordered A. G. Perarivalan's release in May.

The Madras High Court denied the writ petitions filed by Nalini and Ravichandran in June. They had asked for a directive to the Tamil Nadu government to release them immediately rather than waiting for the Governor's approval of a September 9, 2018 Cabinet decision.

The High Court had held that the Governor’s signature requires under Article 161 of the Constitution. In addition, the High Court had noted that it was not permitted to use its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to issue a ruling identical to the one that freed Perarivalan, another assassination case defendant, on May 18.

On the evening of May 21, 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was killed at a rally sponsored by the Congress in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, by a female suicide bomber who went by the name of Dhanu.

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