SC raps govt for delay in deciding on mercy pleas

NEW DELHI: Even death row convicts have rights and should not be treated like inanimate objects. The Centre came in for severe criticism from the Supreme Court for delays in taking a decision on 26 mercy pleas, including that of Parliament attack case convict Mohammed Afzal Guru, pending before the President for a long time.

Aware of allegations and counter-allegations hurled around in political circles over delays in deciding mercy pleas, some of which are pending for over a decade, the SC said, "Human beings are not chattels and should not be used as pawns in furthering some larger political or government policy."

Delivering a judgment upholding death sentence for one Jagdish who had hacked to death his wife and five minor children, a Bench comprising Justices Harjit Singh Bedi and J M Panchal said the government should not lose sight of the plight of these condemned prisoners whose lives were hanging between death and life, that too for years.

It said a prisoner's wait for execution was one of the most frightful experiences and longer the wait, the brighter should be the chances for the convict to get his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

"It would be open to a condemned prisoner, who has been under a sentence of death for a long period of time, for reasons not attributable to him, to contend that the death sentence should be commuted to one of life," said Justice Bedi, writing the judgment for the Bench.

Though governor and President had the power to grant pardon or commutation of sentence, it was done on the advice of the government, the Bench said, adding, "The condemned prisoner and his suffering relatives have, therefore, a very pertinent right in insisting that a decision in the matter be taken within a reasonable time, failing which the power should be exercised in favour of the prisoner."

The court asked those who mattered in the circle of power to reflect on their daily life, where they wait anxiously for the report of a blood test, for a missing family member or a dear one's life hanging between life and death as he lay injured in a hospital.

"Contrast this with the plight of a prisoner, who has been under a sentence of death for 15 years or more living on hope but engulfed in fear as his life hangs in balance and in the hands of those who have no personal interest in his case and for whom he is only a name," said the Bench.

"Equally, consider the plight of the family of such a prisoner, his parents, wife and children, brothers and sisters, who too remain static and in a state of limbo and are unable to get on with life on account of the uncertain fate of a loved one," it said.

"What makes it worse for the prisoner is the indifference and ennui which ultimately develops in the family, brought about by a combination of resignation, exhaustion and despair," said the Bench and asked should these hapless individuals be treated in such a shabby manner.

"These observations become extremely relevant as of today on account of the pendency of 26 mercy petitions before the President of India, in some cases, where the courts have awarded the death sentences more than a decade ago. We, too, take this opportunity to remind the concerned governments of their obligation under the aforementioned statutory and constitutional provisions," the Bench said.

The apex court said those judges who had the occasion to inspect a jail where executions were carried out had first hand knowledge of the agony and horror that a condemned prisoner undergoes every day.

"In addition to the solitary confinement and lack of privacy with respect to even daily ablutions, the rattle on the cell door heralding the arrival of the jailor with the prospect as harbinger of bad news, a condemned prisoner lives a life of uncertainty and defeat," Justice Bedi said.

dhananjay.mahapatra@timesgroup.com
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