New Delhi: Balwant Singh Rajoana has been in jail for 28 years, and he was sentenced to death in 2007 for the assassination of former Chief Minister Beant Singh. After dismissing a petition to commute Rajoana’s death sentence to life imprisonment, the Supreme Court agreed on September 25 to hear the case afresh.
The Court issued a notice to the Centre, the Punjab government, and the Chandigarh administration regarding the delay in deciding on Rajoana’s mercy petition.
Rajoana has approached the Supreme Court for relief for the second time. In May 2023, the Court refused to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment and left the decision to the competent authority of the Central government to address the mercy petition.
However, in his new petition, Rajoana argued that more than a year has passed since the disposal of his first writ petition, and the decision on his fate is still uncertain, causing him deep mental trauma and anxiety every day. He believes this is sufficient grounds for the court to grant the relief sought using its Article 32 powers.
Rajoana File Petition in 2012
Balwant Singh Rajoana, who has been in jail for 28 years, was sentenced to death in 2007 in connection with the assassination of former Chief Minister Beant Singh. He filed a mercy petition in 2012, but no decision has been made in the more than 12 years since, despite reports of the government deciding in 2019 to spare his life in commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
In 2022, the Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central government to immediately address the issue. During the hearings, the Court orally observed that the Central government’s failure to resolve the matter appeared to be contemptuous.
However, the Central government submitted that until last year, there was no representation from Rajoana regarding the commutation of his sentence.