ACHR welcomes Supreme Court judgment on the Rajiv Gandhi's killers

Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) welcomed today's judgment of the Supreme Court commuting the death sentences awarded to Rajiv Gandhi's killers namely, Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan to life imprisonment on the grounds of the agony caused by 11 years delay to consider their mercy pleas.

"Today's Supreme Court judgment corrects the earlier judgement of the Supreme Court with respect to considering the mercy plea of Devinder Singh Bhullar and reinforces that there is no distinction in law between the terror offences and the Indian Penal Code offences as cited by the Government of India," said Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights.

ACHR also called upon the Government of India to reconsider and review the status of all the death row convicts with the aim to commute the death sentences to life imprisonment and abolish death penalty in India.

There are 414 death row convicts at the end of 2012 as per the National Crime Records Bureau of the Ministry of Home Affairs.