Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin wrote to India’s Ram Nath Kovind demanding the release of seven people convicted for their alleged involvement in the assassination of India’s 6th Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi who served from 1984 to 1989 and oversaw the notorious Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF).

The seven convicts are S. Nalini, Murugan, Santhan, A.G. Perarivalan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas and P. Ravichandran.

Read more here: Nalini - India’s Longest Serving Female Prisoner

In his letter, Stalin emphasised that;  

“These seven persons have already suffered untold hardship and agony in the past three decades and have paid a heavy price”.

He further added:

“There has already been an inordinate delay in the consideration of their pleas for remission. In the present circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, courts are also recognising the need to decongest prisons,".

Presidential authority

In September 2018, Tamil Nadu’s government had called on its governor for the remission of the rest of the sentence for all seven convicts and their early release. This was reportedly blocked due to an investigation carried out by the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency of CBI, however, Stalin notes that; “It has been clarified by the respective stands of the Union government and CBI before the Supreme Court that there is no connection between the remission of the sentence and investigation."

Ultimately, Tamil Nadu’s Governor had decided that the President was capable on deciding on the plea of remission of sentence of these seven persons and had forwarded the State government's recommendation to the President's office, Stalin stated.

Decades of suffering

In his remarks, Stalin maintained that;

"The majority of the political parties in Tamil Nadu have been requesting for the remission of the remainder of their sentence and for immediate release of all the seven convicts as they have been incarcerated for about three decades. It is also the will of the people of Tamil Nadu”.

Last year, Arputhammal Ammal, mother of AG Perarivalan, pleaded through a video message to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, asking for her son’s release.  In her video statement, Ammal details her 30-year long battle to have her son released, stating, “In recent times my mental agony has only grown".

Ammal went on to explain that her son, AG Perarivalan has languished in jail for 30 years, and despite her endless battle for his release, he lost his precious years in prison. “How long are we going to be alive…? we want our son during our final years… Please ensure that my son doesn’t go back to jail, Chief Minister,” Ammal pleaded.