Why was Nalini Sriharan, convict in Rajiv Gandhi assassination, released from jail by Supreme Court?

In a strong move by the Supreme Court, all the six convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case were released from jail after over 30 years in prison. Among those released was Nalini Sriharan, who was released from prison earlier this week.

Nalini Sriharan was the only survivor in the five-person group tasked with killing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. She was also seen in a photo with Dhanu, who was the suicide bomber who triggered the explosion, killing Gandhi.

Sriharan was earlier sentenced to death by a court due to the grave nature of her crime, but the sentence was changed to life imprisonment a few years later. Nalini's husband V Sriharan alias Murugan - a co-convict - is a Sri Lankan national, whose fate will be decided by the Tamil Nadu government.

Why was Nalini Sriharan released from jail?

The reason behind the release of the six convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi murder case – including Nalini Sriharan – was the release of another convict in the case A G Perarivalan earlier this year.

The Supreme Court had decided to invoke its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution during the release of Perarivalan from jail. Similar conditions were applied to the other six convicts in the assassination case, after which they were released.

The Supreme Court drew parallels between Perarivalan and the six convicts, saying that they have all spent more than 30 years in prison due to the assassination charges. The court said that their conduct in prison was satisfactory and they have also completed several educational courses during imprisonment.

Apart from the order of the Supreme Court, the Tamil Nadu government has also been pushing for the release of convicts for the past few years.

Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed by LTTE operatives in Sriperumbudur in 1991 during the general election campaign by a suicide bomber named Dhanu. Sri Lanka's Tamil militia feared Gandhi might send back the peace-keeping force should he return to power.

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