The Supreme Court has issued a notice in response to a fresh petition from Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is seeking to have his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment in connection with the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and KV Viswanathan has directed the Centre, the Punjab government, and the Chandigarh administration to address the delays in deciding Rajoana's mercy petition.

Last May, the Supreme Court had remarked that the Central government might eventually consider Rajoana's mercy plea while dismissing his earlier request for commutation. On March 2, 2023, the court reserved its judgment on Rajoana's petition after both parties concluded their arguments. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi represented Rajoana, highlighting that he has been incarcerated for 27 years, with his mercy petition pending since 2012.

In October 2022, during a hearing by a bench led by former Chief Justice UU Lalit, the court noted the pending appeals of Rajoana's co-accused and recommended that Singh's plea be addressed alongside them.

The court had previously instructed the Central Government to respond to Rajoana's mercy petition and mandated the filing of an affidavit by a responsible officer.

“We can’t force you to take what decision…but you have to take one”, the then CJI had remarked.

In May last year, the Court instructed the Centre to decide on Rajoana's plea within two months, without being swayed by the pending appeals of other convicts in the case.

Rajoana, convicted for his involvement in the 1995 explosion that killed former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and 16 others outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh, has been in prison awaiting execution since then. Although sentenced to death in 2007 by a special court, his mercy petition has remained unresolved since 2012.