Former Punjab CM Beant Singh
Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted for the murder of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, has approached the Supreme Court seeking his release. Rajoana has spent nearly 28 years in jail. He cites delays in processing his mercy petition as grounds for his appeal. A bench of Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and KV Vishwanathan is currently hearing the case. The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Central Government, Punjab Government, and Chandigarh Administration, requesting replies within four weeks.
Previous Rulings and Pending Mercy Petition
Last year, the Supreme Court denied Rajoana’s plea to convert his death sentence into life imprisonment. The court allowed the Union Home Ministry to decide on Rajoana’s mercy petition, but no decision has been made by the Central Government to date. In 1995, Rajoana received a death sentence for Beant Singh’s murder. He filed a mercy petition in 2012, which remains pending with the Central Government. Initially sentenced to death by a lower court in July 2007, the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld his sentence in 2010.
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