The Supreme Court on Monday declined to provide interim relief to Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is on death row for the 1995 assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, as it prepares to review his plea seeking commutation of his death sentence. A three-judge bench led by Justice B R Gavai extended the Punjab government’s deadline by two weeks to respond to Rajoana’s petition, scheduling the next hearing for November 18.

Rajoana’s petition argues that the “extraordinary” and “inordinate delay” in the President's decision on his mercy petition warrants a commutation of his sentence. Representing Rajoana, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi highlighted that Rajoana “has been in custody without break for 29 years till today,” and described the delay in deciding the mercy plea as "shocking."

In response to the court’s inquiry, counsel for the Punjab government explained that it had not yet filed a reply to Rajoana’s petition, on which the Supreme Court had issued notice on September 27. Rohatgi sought interim relief for Rajoana, pointing out that "after 29 years, out of which 15 years he has been on death row, they have not disposed of my mercy plea when others have been commuted to life imprisonment in this case by the Supreme Court.” He referred to the Supreme Court’s previous dismissal of Rajoana’s earlier petition in May 2023, where the court had noted that authorities "will take action on the mercy plea in due course.” Rohatgi underscored that “a year and a half had gone by after that without any decision in sight,” and requested temporary release, saying Rajoana “is a finished person. At least, let him see what is outside…You cannot have complete violation of his Article 21.”The bench, however, stated that a detailed hearing on the matter would be necessary.

Rajoana, a former Punjab Police constable, was convicted for orchestrating the August 31, 1995, bombing that killed Beant Singh and 12 others, and was sentenced to death in 2007 by a special CBI court. In March 2012, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee filed a mercy petition on his behalf. Later, in September 2019, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) proposed to the Punjab government that Rajoana’s sentence be commuted to life imprisonment in honour of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, though the proposal was never implemented.

In September 2020, Rajoana approached the Supreme Court, urging an immediate decision on his pending mercy petition and requesting the implementation of the MHA’s 2019 proposal. Hearing his plea, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to make a decision. The central government subsequently filed an affidavit stating it had “decided to defer taking any decision on the mercy plea…as it has a serious potential of compromising the security of the nation or creating a law and order situation.”

In May 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed Rajoana’s earlier plea, leaving the final decision on his mercy petition to the Centre. Rajoana has now filed a fresh plea, renewing his call for commutation amidst continued legal debate and delays.