Supreme Court Tells Centre To Explain Delay In Balwant Singh Rajoana Mercy Plea Decision
Supreme Court directed the Centre to file its affidavit within two weeks explaining the delay in deciding Balwant Singh Rajoana’s long-pending mercy petition seeking commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment
Supreme Court directs Centre to explain delay in deciding Balwant Singh Rajoana’s mercy petition
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to file its affidavit within two weeks in response to a plea by Balwant Singh Rajoana, who has sought commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment due to inordinate delay in deciding his mercy petition.
Rajoana, convicted in the 1995 assassination of then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, has been in custody for over 29 years and on death row for more than 15 years.
The bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and Vijay Bishnoi questioned the delay in filing the Centre’s response.
“Why have you not filed your counter affidavit so far?” the Bench asked counsel appearing for the Union government.
The Centre’s counsel submitted that certain documents were intended to be placed before the Court in a sealed cover. However, the Court declined to entertain further delay, observing that failure to file a response would leave the petitioner’s allegations uncontroverted.
“You file your counter affidavit, otherwise his allegations are uncontroverted,” the Bench said, adding, “You place your affidavit whatever you want to say.”
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Rajoana, submitted that the mercy petition filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in 2012 remains pending despite repeated directions from the Court.
He further referred to earlier orders of the Supreme Court, including a 2023 direction asking authorities to take a decision on the mercy plea, and a September 24 order last year which stated that no further adjournments would be entertained.
The Bench granted the Centre two weeks to file its affidavit and made it clear that no further extension would be allowed in the matter.
In September 2024, the Supreme Court had sought responses from the Union government, the Punjab government and the administration of the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Rajoana’s plea. Beant Singh and 16 others were killed in a bomb blast at the entrance of the civil secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. A special court sentenced Rajoana to death in July 2007.
Rajoana’s plea sought directions for his release, relying on the extraordinary delay in deciding his mercy petition. On May 3, 2023, however, the Supreme Court had declined to commute his death sentence, observing that the competent authority was free to decide the mercy plea in accordance with law.
In his fresh plea, Rajoana highlighted that he had undergone nearly 28.8 years of imprisonment, including more than 15 years as a death row convict. He pointed out that the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee had submitted a mercy petition under Article 72 of the Constitution in March 2012 seeking clemency on his behalf.
In January this year, Supreme Court had granted last chance to the central government to decide on Balwant Singh Rajoana's mercy plea.
Earlier, the apex court had also asked the President of India to consider Balwant Singh Rajoana, the accused in assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, mercy petition within two weeks' time. Supreme Court had refused to grant any interim relief to Rajoana, who approached court with a fresh petition seeking to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment
In May 2023, Supreme Court had observed that the Central government may at a future date consider death-row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana's mercy petition while dismissing his plea to commute his death sentence. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appeared for Rajoana and told the court that he had served 27 years in jail and his mercy petition was filed in 2012 but still had not been decided.
In October 2022, when the matter was taken up by a bench of then CJI UU Lalit, Justice Bhat and Justice Trivedi, the court had noted that the appeals by the co-accused in the case were pending before the Supreme Court and suggested that Singh's plea be taken up with them.
Rajoana was convicted in 1995 and has been in jail awaiting his execution. Former Punjab CM Beant Singh and sixteen other people were killed in an explosion outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh in 1995. After being sentenced to death in 2007 by a special court, Rajoana's mercy petition has been pending since 2012.
Case Title: Balwant Singh v. Union of India and Ors.
Bench: Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria
Hearing Date: April 22, 2026