TN governor urged to to consider murder convict's plea

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked the Tamil Nadu Governor to consider the mercy petition of AG Perarivalan, a convict in the 1991 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. A bench of justices Rajanjan Gogoi, Naveen Sinha, and KM Joseph disposed of the Centre's petition on a proposal for the release of the convicts, saying remission of their sentence will get a “dangerous precedent” and have “international ramifications”. Perarivalan was charged with supplying a 9-volt battery, which was allegedly used for the belt bomb that killed Rajiv Gandhi and 14 others on the night. The convict said he had suffered more than 24 years of solitary confinement. “As per jail rules, life imprisonment at ground level is only for a maximum of 20 years and thereafter the prisoner is considered for release. Now I have already undergone more than life imprisonment,” is letter read.