Wednesday, January 8, 2020


Can’t release Rajiv Gandhi killers: Centre to Madras HC

TNN | Jan 8, 2020, 04.08 AM IST

CHENNAI: The Centre on Tuesday informed the Madras high court that the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to release seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, including Nalini Sriharan, has been rejected by it in April 2018 since it would lead to “international ramifications”.

Additional solicitor general G Rajagopalan made the submission on behalf of the home ministry on the plea moved by Nalini seeking to declare her detention as illegal since the governor had failed to act upon the recommendation of the state cabinet to release the seven convicts.

Recording the submissions, a division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice R Pongiyappan impleaded the Union home ministry as party respondent and directed it to file a counter by January 28.

In the rejection order produced by the solicitor general, the home ministry had stated: ‘The case involves assassination of a former prime minister of the country who was brutally killed in pursuance of diabolical plot carefully conceived and executed by a highly organised foreign terrorist organisation. Sixteen innocent lives were lost and many sustained grievous injuries in the gruesome, inhuman, uncivilised, and merciless bomb blast which was successfully enacted with active help and participation of these convicts and others who were LTTE militants or its staunch supporters.”

“The CBI has opposed the state government’s proposal to release the convicts in the interest of justice. The case has been reviewed, scrutinised by various forums of the judiciary and executive and both the highest judicial forum as well as the executive forum has elevated the case and decided the matter. Releasing the four foreign nationals who had committed the gruesome murder of former PM in connivance with three Indian nationals will set a very dangerous precedent and lead to international ramifications by other such criminals in the future,” the order said.

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