TN Governor will decide on remission of sentence of Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict in 3-4 days: Centre to SC

The Central government on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that the Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit would decide on state government's recommendation for the remission of sentence of AG Perarivalan, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, in three to four days.

After Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao that Purohit has informed that decision will be taken soon on state government's recommendation, the hearing of the case was adjourned for four weeks.

During an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had expressed displeasure over the Tamil Nadu Governor for not taking any decision on the remission plea of Perarivalan for over two years.

The Bench had asked Tamil Nadu government to request Purohit to expedite his decision on the state's recommendations for the remission of sentence of the convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

Gandhi was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber during an election rally in Sriperumpudur in May 1991.

The Bench was hearing a petition filed by Perarivalan seeking release from the prison based on the recommendation made by the Tamil Nadu government.

Gandhi was assassinated on the night of May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, at a poll rally.

On February 18, 2014, the apex court had commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan to life imprisonment on grounds of a delay of 11 years in deciding the mercy pleas by the Centre.

( With inputs from ANI )