The Centre on Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking a review of its November 11 order granting remission to six convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. In the review petition, the Government said it didn’t get the chance to argue the case and that the apex court order was “legally flawed”.
“As explained in detail …. Granting remission to the convicts who had assassinated the former Prime Minister of the country as passed without affording an adequate opportunity of hearing to the Union of India (which was a necessary party to the present) or being formally impleaded as a party to the petition…,” said the review petition.
“... absence of any assistance by the Union of India, due to procedural lapse of convicts/petitioners, while the present matter was being finally heard and decided has prevented this court from appreciating the crucial and important evidence in the matter... has resulted into patent and manifest errors apparent on the face of record creeping into the final judgment... has resulted into admitted and glaring breach of principles of natural justice and has, in fact, resulted into miscarriage of justice,” the plea said.
On November 11, the Supreme Court had set free Nalini Sriharan and five other remaining convicts, who were serving life term for about three decades in the Rajiv assassination case, noting that its earlier order releasing another convict AG Perarivalan was equally applicable to them.
The court on November 11 released all other accused citing the release of Perarivalan.
Nalini and the other convicts walked out of the Tamil Nadu prisons. Other convicts are from Sri Lanka and now put in special camps by the Tamil Nadu Government.