Convicts of Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Given Early Release by Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: In a major development, the Supreme Court of India granted freedom to all the convicts of one of the most high-profile incidents in the country.

Former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi was the target of assassination carried out by a group of militants from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The incident happened on May 21, 1991, in the Sriperumbudur region of modern-day Chennai in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Along with the prime minister, several security personnel and bystanders were also killed in the suicide bombing during a political rally.

The serious lapse in security had allowed this incident to take place and was soon followed by a manhunt for all the people taking any part in this incident. This led to the capture of seven people in relation to the assassination. They were convicted and condemned to a death sentence by the apex court of the country.

Several parties and persons pleaded against this decision of the court. The intervention of Sonia Gandhi, the wife of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi led to the reduction of the life sentence of Nalini Sriharan to lifetime imprisonment from the death sentence in the year 2000. The rest of the convicts also received the same reduction in the year 2014.

This incident stirs political feelings in the state of Tamil Nadu and the mention of the convicts comes up during every election, irrespective of the party in power. Many Tamil people maintain to the day that the seven were mere pawns in a much larger political conspiracy.

Following a recommendation from the then chief minister of the state J Jayalalitha to the Governor of the state, one of the convicts was released on humanitarian grounds earlier this year. The Supreme Court had utilized its extraordinary powers to grant the same. Following the same step, the rest of the LTTE members were also granted freedom today.

The Congress party objected to this step by the Supreme Court order.

"The decision of the Supreme Court to free the remaining killers of former PM Rajiv Gandhi is totally unacceptable and completely erroneous. The Congress Party criticizes it clearly and finds it wholly untenable. It is most unfortunate that the Supreme Court has not acted in consonance with the spirit of India on this issue," commented Jairam Ramesh. He is the General Secretary of the Congress Party.

It may be noted that Indian Law states that the term of "Life Imprisonment" may range anywhere between a minimum of fourteen years to a maximum till natural death. The convicts have already spent 33 years in jail till their release today.

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