New Delhi: The Supreme Court has criticised the Punjab government on the Balwant Singh Rajoana clemency issue. The court called the stay on the hanging of Rajoana, a drama by the state government. Rajoana is one of the assassins of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh and was to be hanged on Saturday.
However, the Centre stayed his hanging after Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal met President Pratibha Patil seeking clemency for Rajoana. "We had appealed to the Centre asking for clemency for Rajoana. That's why we met the President and the Prime Minister. The President had referred the matter to the Home Ministry. The execution has been stayed till the judicial process is on," Badal said on Wednesday.
Union Home Ministry sources told CNN-IBN that since two mercy petitions were filed for Rajoana, the Centre stayed the execution. Rajoana's case will be taken up as per the rules and then his clemency would be considered by the President, sources added.
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said that he had received a letter from the Home Ministry staying the execution till the time Rajoana's petition isn't dismissed by the Supreme Court....
more
01:03 PM, Mar 29, 2012
