STF na Mídia - MyClipp

The Economic Times/ - News, Ter, 03 de Abril de 2012
CLIPPING INTERNACIONAL (Supreme Court)
Supreme Court seeks details of 18 mercy
pleas before President
NEW DELHI: In a significant move, the Supreme
Court today directed the Centre to furnish details of 18
mercy pleas, including that of Parliament attack death
convict Afzal Guru, pending disposal before the
President.
A bench of justices G S Singhvi and S J
Mukhopadhaya also asked eminent jurist Ram
Jethmalani to file written submissions on "whether the
President should objectively apply mind while deciding
mercy petitions".
The apex court felt that the role of the state was
perhaps advisory and the final verdict is of the
President.
The court passed directions while dealing with the
appeal filed by death convict Devender Pal Singh
Bhullar, challenging the undue delay in disposal of his
mercy petition by the President.
The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Haren
Raval to produce the files relating to 18 death row
convicts whose mercy petitions are pending for
disposal for the past one to seven years.
Appearing for Bhullar, senior counsel K T S Tulsi told
the court that between 1997 and 2011, the President
has disposed off 32 mercy petitions, 13 of which were
done after a 10-year wait.
He submitted 14 other cases were disposed off after a
delay ranging between four and 10 years, while the
remaining cases were disposed off between one-four
years.
Earlier Jethmalani told the court that there should not
be even a day's delay in disposal of the mercy petition
of the convict as it was violative of the persons right to
liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
He submitted that section 302 IPC prescribes a
maximum sentence of death but delay in execution of
the death sentence or disposal of the mercy petition
amounted to imposing additional punishment on the
convict "if not sanctioned by law".
241