New Delhi: The Supreme Court is going to hear today the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, the assassin of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. Rajoana’s lawyers have appealed to convert his death sentence into life imprisonment. They say that waiting for the death sentence for such a long time is like mental torture.
On November 18, a bench of Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Vishwanathan, while hearing the case, sent Rajoana’s mercy petition to the President. The court had ordered the President’s secretary to place it before the President. The bench also asked to decide on the petition in 2 weeks.
Rajoana’s lawyer Mukul Rohatgi had described the delay in deciding the mercy petition as shocking. He had said that this person has been in continuous custody for 29 years till date. Rajoana was convicted of the crime of bomb blast in 1996.
On November 20, Balwant Singh Rajoana attended the antim ardas of his brother Kulwant Singh in Rajoana Kalan village of Ludhiana. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had given him a 3-hour parole from 11 am to 2 pm. Rajoana was brought from Patiala jail under tight security.