"Why Balwant Singh Rajoana not hanged till now?", SC asks Centre

The Supreme Court today ordered that the mercy petition filed by Balwant Singh Rajoana will be heard on for October 15 and it would not be adjourned at the Centre's instance.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria was informed about the seriousness of the crime committed by Rajoana by Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj.

Appearing for Rajoana, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi told the bench that, "one does not know what is going on," and that the mercy petition should be decided in time. Rohatgi further argued on Rajoana's condition saying that he was unaware if his client was in solitary confinement or in a sane sense, or not.

Court was further told that this was not an "India-Pakistan issue" which was taking so much time to be decided. "Why did you not hang him till now? At least, we have not stayed the execution," the bench went on to ask ASG Nataraj.

In January this year, Supreme Court had granted last chance to the central government to decide on Balwant Singh Rajoana's mercy plea. A bench of Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and KV Viswanathan, while granting additional time to the Centre, had observed, "....We will grant you time by way of a last chance. Either you decide, or we will hear the matter on merits..."

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the centre had pressed for some more time considering the sensitivities involved in the matter. In November 2024, the Supreme Court had granted the Union government four weeks to decide the mercy petition filed by Rajoana, a death row convict.

Earlier, the top 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. Noting that no response had come from the Union of India on the issue, Justice BR Gavai led bench had ordered, "Inspite of the matter being specifically kept today none appeared for Union of India. On the last date the matter was adjourned to enable the union to take instructions from the office of the President as to by when the mercy plea will be decided. As the petitioner is on a death row, we direct the Secretary to the President of India to place the matter before the President with a request to consider the same within two weeks from today."

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 vs. Union of India and Ors.

Bench: Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria

Hearing Date: September 24, 2025