The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to ascertain from the Governor the status of a recommendation made by the State Cabinet on September 9, 2018, to release all seven convicts in the case of assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy asked Advocate-General R. Shunmugasundaram to obtain the information within a week. They were seized of a writ petition filed by one of the convicts, S. Nalini, to release her without waiting anymore for the Governor’s nod.
M. Radhakrishnan, counsel for the petitioner, argued that the Governor had been sitting on the recommendation for the last 42 months though such a recommendation was binding upon him and he had no choice but to either accept or return it for reconsideration.
During the course of hearing, it was brought to the notice of the court that when co-convict A.G. Perarivalan moved the Supreme Court for premature release, the Union Home Ministry told the court that the Governor had on January 25, 2021, referred the plea to the President after finding the latter to be the competent authority.
Hence, the first Division Bench, led by Chief Justice Bhandari, wanted to know whether the Cabinet’s recommendation to release Nalini, too, had been referred to the President or Perarivalan’s plea alone had been referred. The judges wanted to be sure of the facts before passing orders on her petition.
The Chief Justice also wondered how could the court order release without the Governor’s nod when the Constitution does not permit such a course. In reply, Mr. Radhakrishnan said a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in Maru Ram versus Union of India (1980) held that the Governor’s nod was only a constitutional courtesy.
“Maybe, but the Governor is the final authority. His signature is mandatory. Otherwise, we would be making the Governor’s position absolutely insignificant or redundant. If we deviate from the constitutional mandate, then the Government will send any recommendation, wait for some time and then implement it without his approval,” the Chief Justice remarked before adjourning the hearing by a week.
