A G Perarivalan with his mother Arputham Ammal and others at a tea stall in Vellore, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, before heading home following his release on bail from the Puzhal jail after more than 30 years.
With President Pratibha Patil rejecting the clemency petitions of three killers of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the mother of one of them on Friday demanded a 'fresh and transparent trial' and claimed her son was not at all connected with it.
Elated over the Supreme Court commuting to life term the death penalty given to her son in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the mother of convict A G Perarivalan on Tuesday thanked Chief Justice A P Sathasivam for the "historic" verdict.
The top court refused to agree with the Centre's suggestion that the court should wait till the President decides on the issue.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the release of A G Perarivalan, who has served over 30 years of life term in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
The current question is about the BJP-ruled Centre, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, like its predecessors, not arguing the Union of India's case effectively and continuously, whenever the matter came up in the past, if its case still was that Rajiv's killing was an 'act of terror', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Whichever way the verdict goes, it will be a win-win for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa ahead of the assembly election next year. A favourable verdict, it will be a boost for her because she took the decision to release the convicts. She will once again try to usurp the Tamil card and use it to silence her political rivals. If the verdict goes against her, she can still claim the moral high ground. R Ramasubramanian explains.
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