Rajiv Gandhi assassination case: Nalini Sriharan approaches Supreme Court seeking release

In connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Nalini Sriharan, a convict serving a life sentence, went to the Supreme Court on Thursday, requesting her release from her jail-like fellow convict, AG Perarivalan.

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Nalini has made reference to the ruling of the highest court in the country, which found in favour of AG Perarivalan's release from prison. Nalini had already petitioned the Madras High Court for a similar remedy, but the High Court had declined to hear her case.

The Madras High Court, while turning down the petition, had stated that it did not have special powers that the Supreme Court has under Article 142 of the Constitution and hence, it cannot order their release, as the Supreme Court di for Perarivalan in May 2022.

P. Ravichandran, a fellow inmate, had already gone to the Supreme Court for help. 30 years into his incarceration, Ravichandran has filed for temporary release from prison.

When asked whether their appeal hinged on Perarivalan's freedom, the High Court stated they might go to the Supreme Court with it.

On May 18 the Supreme Court released AG Perarivalan, one of seven convicted in the assassination case, using its exceptional powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.

Ravichandran had written to Chief Minister MK Stalin after Perarivalan's release to request the release of the other six prisoners, including himself. He argued that the Governor's practise of ignoring the release applications for more than three years was unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Perarivalan's request for early release from prison in light of the recommendation given by the Tamil Nadu government in September 2018, while the other six convicts remain in prison.

As part of his argument in his appeal against the High Court's ruling, Ravichandran referenced the Supreme Court's decision in Perarivalan. At a political event in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, on the evening of May 21, 1991, a female suicide bomber named Dhanu killed Rajiv Gandhi.

(With inputs from ANI)