Backed by ruling Akali Dal, the SGPC, apex religious body of Sikhs, will file a clemency appeal before the President for Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is on death row for the 1995 killing of Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, even as ally BJP steered clear of the issue.
Nalini, the life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, on Saturday met her husband and a death row convict in the same case, Murugan, at the Vellore prison, jail sources said.
Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, on death row in a Pakistan jail, may die there as his health is deteriorating each day, his sister claimed on Thursday.
Formula One and the championship-leading Red Bull team mourned the death of the energy drink company's Austrian founder Dietrich Mateschitz on Saturday at the age of 78.
Sarabjit's family brought with them special food that he was fond of. Dalbir Kaur was carrying 18 'rakhis' one for each year that her brother has been away from India. Ahead of the meeting, prison officials said Sarabjit's kin would be allowed to spend at least an hour with him. They pointed out that the prison superintendent had the discretion to allow them to spend an additional 30 minutes.
Outlawed radical outfit Jamaat-ud-Dawah has warned India against 'striking' Pakistan and asked it to hand over persons involved in the Samjhauta Express train bombing.
Pakistan's National Assembly has passed a government-backed bill that will provide the right of appeal to Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav, according to a media report.
Surjeet Singh, who was released from a Pakistani jail after 31 years, today said Indian death row convict Sarabjit Singh is fine and hoped that he is freed soon.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday defended its decision to grant mercy to some death row convicts, saying the power to pardon is not a private act of grace by the President but a part of the constitutional scheme of things.
Apparently pained at politics over the execution of death row convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, All India Anti-Terrorist Front Chairman M S Bitta on Tuesday criticised the Punjab Congress unit for backing the demand for commuting the sentence. "I am mentally tortured by the Congress and central intelligence agencies for the past 18 years. I have completely failed to face political terrorism in the country," Bitta said.
The Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in saving the life of death row convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar whose mercy petition had been rejected by the President. In a statement, the ruling party in Punjab sought "direct and immediate intervention of the prime minister to save the life of Bhullar on grounds of humanitarianism and civilised concern and above all the national interest".
A leader of Communist Party of India - Marxist students' wing Student's Federation of India, who was arrested after a clash with the police, died in Kolkata on Tuesday. His death triggered a row with the men in uniform claiming he fell from a vehicle while the party alleged that he succumbed to injuries sustained in lathi-charge by police.
Ghafoor said the reports of the amendment in the Pak Army Act to implement ICJ verdict regarding Jadhav are 'incorrect'.
Dhananjoy Chatterjee, sentenced to death for raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl in Kolkata in 1990, was hanged to death on Saturday at 0430 IST, official sources said.
In his petition to the Supreme Court, Yakub had stated that he had been in jail for more than 20 years, which is more than the jail term awarded for life imprisonment, which is 14 years.
The Foreign Office sources said that adequate security measures will be taken for complete safety of Jadhav's family.
Dalbir Kaur, the sister of Sarabjit Singh -- who has been on death row in a Pakistani jail for over 20 years -- could not meet Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari during his visit to Ajmer Sharif where he offered a chaddar and prayed for peace in the Indian subcontinent on April 4.
Talking exclusively to rediff.com, Rajoana's sister Kamaljit Kaur said: "He stands for Khalistan and we support him. We will stand with him through thick and thin. My brother is in high spirits and he is ready for any eventuality."
Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday hit out at political parties demanding clemency for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and took out a protest rally against the Delhi high court blast that killed 12 persons.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi on Friday appealed to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to intervene and save the lives of three death row convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, saying appeals by Tamils across the world needed to be considered in the spirit of "forget and forgive".
A five-judge Bench of Justices NV Ramana, Arun Mishra, RF Nariman, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan heard the petition filed by Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh. The duo had moved a curative petition in the top court after a Delhi court issued death warrants in their names for their hanging on January 22.
The sister of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian on death row in Pakistan following his conviction for alleged involvement in bomb attacks, on Friday urged the Pakistan government to send a special team to India to re-investigate his case.
Contests in 13 seats would attract most attention during the Chhattisgarh assembly elections as they feature prominent leaders of the Congress and BJP.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday demanded that the Centre make "fresh efforts" for securing the early release of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner on death row in Pakistan. The demand comes in the wake of Supreme Court judge Justice Markandey Katju writing to the prime minister for the release of Pakistani prisoner Dr Khaleel Chishty, who has been languishing in Indian jails for the past 20 years. The SC judge had sought the release of Chishty, a micro-biologist.
With President Pratibha Patil rejecting the mercy petition of two convicts on death row, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday raised the pitch for the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and said the government was not bound to go by sequence while dealing with pending pleas.
Hasan Ali Khan, the Pune-based stud farm owner arrested on money laundering charges, is the second-most secure inmate of the Arthur Road jail after Ajmal Kasab, lodged like the Pakistani gunman on death row in the high-security 'Anda cell'.
Dalbir Kaur, the sister of Sarabjit Singh who is on death row in a Pakistan prison, made a vain bid to meet Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday during his stay at a hotel in Mohali
The Delhi government has decided to refer to the Union home ministry a decision on the execution of death row convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar following a medical board report that he is under severe mental depression.
The 20-year-old daughter of Nalini and Murugan, who were convicted in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, wants to come to India and campaign for clemency for her father who is on death row.
However, hours after the high court order was pronounced, Akshay's mercy plea was rejected by the President on Wednesday evening. The mercy pleas of Mukesh and Vinay have already been rejected. Pawan is yet to seek that relief.
Pakistani authorities enhanced security for Asia Bibi, the Christian woman who triggered a blasphemy furore in the country and in whose defence Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer lost his life, following reports of a threat to her life. The government of Punjab government beefed up security for 45-year-old Asia Bibi in Sheikhupura jail, where she is currently on death row, officials said.
A 41-year-old man in the United States has been executed for killing a convenience store clerk from India during a shooting spree in 2001. Mark Stroman, a Texas death row inmate, shot at least three men he mistook for 'Arabs' in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks, killing two of them. He was convicted of killing Vasudev Patel, 49, during the attempted robbery of a convenience store near Dallas in October 2001.
Besides Mittal, seven others were awarded life sentences in the case by a lower court.
Her protests come right after the trial court offered Pawan Gupta, one of the four death row convicts in the case, saying a condemned convict is entitled to legal aide till his last breath.
The NCERT has dropped references to the demand for a separate Sikh nation of Khalistan from the class 12 political science textbook following objections from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), according to top education ministry officials.
Convinced that death row convict Sarabjeet Singh is "innocent" and deserved to be released, former Pakistani Minister and noted human rights activist Ansar Burney on Friday demanded that India also consider release of all Pakistanis who had completed their jail terms as a reciprocative gesture.
Sukanya Verma gives us a lowdown on all those wonderful movies she saw and movies you need to see as and when they arrive to a screen or streaming space near you.
Indian national Sarabjit Singh, on death row in Pakistan, had an emotional reunion with his sister Dalbir Kaur after three years in a prison on Thursday.
Briefing media perons about the number of mercy petitions currently with his ministry, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said there are total 31 cases, out of which 19 have been resubmitted with decision on 11 cases in the last 30 months.
Sarabjit Singh's family appeals for his release.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances