All six convicts Rajiv Gandhi assassination case acquitted by Supreme Court

All six of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case defendants, who were serving life sentences, have been set free by the Supreme Court. The court noted that the requirements set down for AG Perarivalan were met even in the cases of the remaining offenders, and it applied its May 18 2022 order releasing AG Perarivalan to them.

S Nalini, Jaykumar, RP Ravichandran, Robert Pias, Suthendraraja, and Sriharan were all granted release by this court judgement. They were all judged to have had good behaviour while incarcerated and had all earned different degrees. The Tamil Nadu cabinet had recommended their release on September 9, 2018, and the court underlined that this recommendation would be binding on the governor, before whom the convicts had submitted remission petitions.

The highest court had earlier this year put an end to convict AG Perarivalan’s 31-year detention. His good prison behaviour, health, educational achievements earned while incarcerated, and the protracted nature of his mercy petition since December 2015 were all taken into consideration.

“Seeing his satisfactory conduct in jail, medical records, educational qualifications achieved in jail, and pendency of his mercy petition filed under Article 161 before TN Governor since December 2015…in exercise of powers under Article 142, we direct the petitioner to be set free,” the court had said at the time.

When Rajiv Gandhi took office at the age of 40, he made history as the nation’s youngest prime minister. On May 21, 1991, he was assassinated in Tamil Nadu.