Chennai: The Centre has reiterated its stand at Madras High Court that the convicts of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case cannot be released without its approval and said the Tamil Nadu cabinet recommendation for their premature release would have ‘zero’ effect.
A petition by one of the convicts Nalini seeking her early release as per the State Cabinet recommendation came up for hearing yesterday.
The Additional Solicitor General, ASG, G.Rajagopalan said the state cabinet recommendation will have zero-effect without the Centre’s consent. He also referred to the apex court order in a case filed earlier by the convicts which says the Centre’s concurrence for their release is necessary as the case was investigated by the CBI.
Nalini moved the court contending that as per the September 9, 2018 recommendation of the state cabinet of her release, the Tamil Nadu Governor had failed to order and she was in illegal detention.
“The Supreme Court had held that the Centre’s consent or concurrence was necessary because the case was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),” Rajagopalan said.
“Already the central government had refused to release these convicts. Besides, as per the Supreme Court orders, life sentence means imprisonment till death,” Rajagopalan said.
