The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to decide by March 18 on the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a death row convict in the 1995 assassination of then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and K V Viswanathan granted the Centre this "last chance" to act on the petition. “Either you take a decision, or we will hear the case on merits,” the bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre.

Rajoana has sought the commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment, citing an "inordinate delay" in processing his mercy plea. Mehta highlighted the case's sensitivity, pointing out that the assassination involved a sitting chief minister in a terror attack with serious implications. He requested six additional weeks to finalize the decision.

Rajoana’s counsel argued that the convict had already spent nearly 29 years in prison, including over 15 years on death row, and requested some relief. The bench acknowledged the gravity of the situation, stating that in similar cases, the court had imposed a sentence of life imprisonment until actual death. However, the court deferred its decision, adding, “We will hear the matter on March 18. If a decision is taken by then, well and good; otherwise, we will proceed on merits.”

On November 25, 2024, the Centre informed the court of the sensitivity surrounding Rajoana's mercy petition. Earlier, on November 18, the court had withheld its order directing President Droupadi Murmu’s office to consider the plea after the Centre intervened, citing ongoing deliberations within the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The case traces back to August 31, 1995, when Beant Singh and 16 others were killed in a blast at the entrance of the Chandigarh Civil Secretariat. In July 2007, a special court sentenced Rajoana to death. His plea for clemency, filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee in March 2012, has since remained pending.

In a fresh petition, Rajoana cited his prolonged imprisonment—spanning over 28 years, including 17 as a death row inmate—and referenced the Supreme Court’s April 2023 directive, which urged states to expedite decisions on mercy petitions to prevent undue delays.

The court has emphasized the need for the Centre to act decisively to facilitate further judicial proceedings.