On June 11, 1991, A G Perarivalan alias Arivu, then 19 years old, was detained. He was accused of purchasing two 9-volt ‘Golden Power’ battery cells for Sivarasan, the LTTE leader who planned Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. On May 21, that year, the batteries were used in the explosion that assassinated the previous Prime Minister.
The Supreme Court utilised its exceptional powers “for dispensing entire justice” under Article 142 of the Constitution to “put Perarivalan free forthwith” on Wednesday. Perarivalan’s release signals the end of a three-decade legal struggle he waged from his Vellore and Puzhal Central jail cells in Tamil Nadu.
Perarivalan had submitted a petition for parole in September 2018, following the Tamil Nadu government’s suggestion. The Governor waited on the suggestion for two and a half years before delivering it to President Ram Nath Kovind in February 2021, prolonging the delay.
The Supreme Court concluded the hearing on May 11 and reserved its decision. The court ruled on Wednesday that “it is well-established that the advice of the State Cabinet is binding on the Governor in the exercise of his powers (to grant pardons, reprieves, respites, or remissions) under Article 161 of the Constitution,” and that “non-exercise of the power under Article 161 or inexplicable delay in exercising such power not attributable to the prisoner is subject to judicial review.”
“The Governor’s mention to the President of India of the suggestion of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet two and a half years after such proposal has been made is without any constitutional foundation and is contrary to the design of our Constitution,” it said.
A TADA court condemned Perarivalan to death in 1998, and the Supreme Court affirmed the sentence in 1999. On February 18, 2014, the Supreme Court remitted the sentence, along with the death penalties given to the other defendants in the case, Murugan and Santhan, to life in prison.
Perarivalan had filed a remission petition with the Tamil Nadu Governor in 2015, requesting release under Article 161 of the Constitution. After obtaining no response, he filed a petition with the Supreme Court.
In August 2017, he was allowed parole for the first time to see his sick father, a Tamil poet and retired schoolteacher.
The parole order indicated that he had fulfilled the terms granted to him for several charges for which he had been convicted, and that he was currently serving time in jail exclusively under IPC Section 302 (penalty for murder) (punishment for murder). The order noted it was open to the relevant authorities (the state government) to assess the case of the prisoner.
The Supreme Court had ruled in September 2018 that the Governor had the authority to decide on his petition for remission after hearing his appeal. The Tamil Nadu Cabinet, led by then-Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, proposed that all seven inmates be released within days. Raj Bhavan, on the other hand, elected to sit on it.
In July 2020, the Governor received harsh criticism from the Madras High Court. The HC reminded him that the constitutional authority (Governor) has no time restriction to decide on such problems “because to the faith and trust associated to the constitutional post.” “If such authority fails to make a decision in a reasonable period, the court will be forced to intervene,” the court stated.
In January 2021, the Supreme Court indicated its concern with the Governor’s delay, warning that the court would be obliged to make a judgement. The government’s lawyer guaranteed that the judgement would not be postponed any longer. The Governor’s office, however, surprised everyone when it transmitted the case to Rashtrapati Bhavan in February 2021.
The Governor’s decision was labelled as “illegal” by senior jurists, and the SC raised issues about it in many sessions following that. The subject, however, remained with Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Meanwhile, Perarivalan was granted parole by the state government on May 19, 2021. His parole was then extended for “health reasons.” On March 9, 2022, the Supreme Court granted him bail.
