During the brief hearing, the apex court said if it will

issue notice, it will have to hear the matter entirely. Further, the Chief Justice said there are two options-- either this bench will have to hear the matter or it will have to refer to the bench which has been seized with the issue of mercy petition. The bench said hearing this matter may also have a bearing on the petitions filed by the death row convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case against the rejection of their mercy petition. The apex court had on May 1 last year had decided to adjudicate itself the pleas of Rajiv Gandhi killers-- Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan alias Arivu-- against their death penalty due to the delay of over 11 years in deciding their mercy petitions by the President. The Madras High Court had earlier stayed their hanging and had issued notices to the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government. Urging the apex court to intervene, the four death convicts pleaded that a decision on their mercy petition has been delayed by 9 years and as per its earlier order they are entitled to seek remedy for undue long delay in the execution of the sentence of death. "Nine years delay in disposal of the petitioners� mercy petitions has given them a right to approach this Court or the High Court to seek a commutation of the sentence of death," the petition said.