A Bench headed By CJI Bobde has pushed the Central Government to give a decision on a mercy petition filed by Balwant Singh Rajoana. Mr. Rajoana is facing capital punishment for the murder of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. He was put in custody since 1995. His lawyer advocate Mukul Rohatgi said that the petition was filed in 2012 and due to such delay, there should be a reduction of sentence. Mr. Rohatgi backed his claim by using SC decisions in Shatrughan Chouhan and Sriharan cases on account of the delay in deciding the mercy petition. Rajoana even said in a petition that all his pleas over the years have not been heard by the government. Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj who represents the Union government informed the court that the mercy plea is being processed. And that the President would make the final decision on whether Rajoana should live or not in the upcoming days. The case will be finally decided on January 26th.
