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SC reserves judgment on Rajiv murder accused

The Supreme Court Tuesday reserved its verdict on petitions seeking a review of its earlier judgment confirming death sentence to four of the 26 accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

The court had earlier commuted the sentence of three accused to life imprisonment and acquitted the remaining 19.

A special court in Madras had ordered capital punishment to all the 26 while convicting them of various charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. The verdict came from a three-judge bench comprising Justices K T Thomas, D P Wadhawa and S S M Quadri on the conclusion of arguments on behalf of the four accused -- Santhan, Nalini, her husband Murugan and Periarivalan alias Arivu -- and the Central Bureau of Investigation, the prosecuting agency.

Arguing for the accused, senior advocate N Natarajan submitted that capital punishment was an error as none of them had any knowledge about the assassination.

Appearing on behalf of the CBI, Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee contended that the assassination was carried out at a public place against a prospective prime ministerial candidate and there was clear intention on the part of the accused to strike terror. They wanted to send a signal to the Indian leadership not to meddle with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The attorney general submitted that this clearly constituted an act of terrorism.

The former prime minister was killed in a human bomb explosion on May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbadur where had gone to address an election meeting.

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