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Balwant Singh Rajoana's Mercy Plea: A Case of Delayed Decision on Death Sentence Introduction: The Supreme Court's Latest Directive The Supreme Court of India has directed the Central Government to decide on the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana , a death-row prisoner convicted for the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995. The court has set March 18 as the deadline, warning that if no decision is taken, it will proceed to hear the matter on merits. The Assassination of Beant Singh The case stems from the August 31, 1995 , assassination of Beant Singh, orchestrated via a bomb explosion in Chandigarh. Balwant Singh Rajoana, a sympathizer of the Babbar Khalsa militant group , was convicted and sentenced to death in 2007 by a Chandigarh court. The conviction was upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2010. Notably, Rajoana never filed an appeal against the High Court’s decision. Mercy Petition: Grounds and Delay Balwant Singh...

Delhi Riots Case 2020: High Court Dismisses Sharjeel Imam's Plea for Early Hearing of Bail Petition The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Sharjeel Imam, seeking an early hearing of his bail plea, which has been pending for the last 28 months. Imam, a former Ph.D. student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), has been in custody since January 28, 2020, as one of the accused in the larger conspiracy case of the Delhi Riots 2020. Dismissal of Plea for Early Hearing The division bench, led by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, rejected the plea, emphasizing that the bail matter is already scheduled for a hearing on October 7, 2024. The court saw no necessity for advancing the hearing date. Imam had filed this petition challenging the trial court's order, dated April 11, 2022, which had dismissed his regular bail application. Timeline of Appeal and Delays The plea highlighted that the appeal against the trial court’s order has been pending for 28 months, which has led to pr...