S.D. Sharma took just 6 days to act on mercy plea

As the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are crossing swords on the issue of the President deciding on the mercy petition of condemned prisoner-Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru, information obtained under the RTI Act has revealed that the then President Shankar Dayal Sarma took just six days to decide on a similar mercy petition in 1996.

According to a reply sent by the Home Ministry to RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal, the mercy petition of condemned prisoner Ravji alias Ram Chandra from Rajasthan was sent to the President's Secretariat for a decision on March 13, 1996 and it was rejected on March 19.

The Ministry also said “[a] sequence is followed in deciding mercy petitions.”

Ravji was convicted to death sentence for hacking his pregnant wife and three minor sons. He also attempted to murder his mother and the wife of a neighbour.

24 petitions pending

There are 24 mercy petitions, including that of Afzal Guru, lying in the President's Secretariat for disposal. In some of them, all proceedings, including recommendations of the respective State governments, had been obtained.