The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed the writ petitions filed by S. Nalini and R.P. Ravichandran, the life convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, seeking a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to release them forthwith without waiting anymore for the Governor’s nod to a September 9, 2018 Cabinet recommendation.
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N. Mala concurred with Advocate-General R. Shunmugasundaram that the Governor’s signature was sine qua non under Article 161 of the Constitution and that the Supreme Court, too, in the famous Maru Ram’s case (1980) had held that it was “obligatory” to obtain his/her signature.
