On the raging controversy over delay in deciding mercy petitions of death row convicts by the President, the Union government, in an additional affidavit to the Supreme Court, has said that the demand for the “abolition” of the capital punishment was no ground for granting mercy to the convicts.
“Abolition of death penalty in India is a totally different issue which has no connection to the issue of disposal of the mercy petition under the constitutional scheme. At present, the death sentence is constitutionally approved and permissible and has been provided by the Act of Parliament,” the affidavit filed by the home ministry said.
Though the affidavit came in response to Sikh militant Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar’s plea challenging the presidential order rejecting his mercy petition last year, the government bringing on record the abolition issue assumes significance as several death row convicts are rushing to the court with the plea for commuting death sentence in the wake of long delay in deciding their mercy petitions. In their petitions, the convicts had been citing recommendations of various international conventions for doing away with the death penalty.