The Supreme Court on Monday granted the Union government an additional four weeks to decide on the mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a death row convict.

A Special Bench, headed by Justice BR Gavai, agreed to postpone the hearing after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta highlighted the "sensitivities" surrounding the case. 

Last week, the top court had directed the President of India to consider Rajoana’s mercy petition, related to his role in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, within two weeks.

Noting that no response had come from the Union of India on the issue, Justice BR Gavai led bench had ordered, "Inspite of the matter being specifically kept today none appeared for Union of India. On the last date the matter was adjourned to enable the union to take instructions from the office of the President as to by when the mercy plea will be decided. As the petitioner is on a death row, we direct the Secretary to the President of India to place the matter before the President with a request to consider the same within two weeks from today."

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court declined to grant any interim relief to Balwant Singh Rajoana, who filed a fresh petition seeking to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment. A bench consisting of Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and KV Viswanathan refused to hear the petition without first receiving a response from the State of Punjab.

The court had previously issued notices to the Centre, the Punjab government, and the Chandigarh administration regarding the delay in deciding Rajoana's mercy petition.

In May 2023, the Supreme Court had observed that the Central government might consider Rajoana's mercy petition in the future while dismissing his plea to commute the death sentence. On March 2, 2023, the court had reserved its orders on the matter after both parties concluded their arguments.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Rajoana, argued that his client had already served 27 years in prison and that his mercy petition, filed in 2012, had yet to be decided.

In October 2022, the bench led by then Chief Justice UU Lalit noted that the appeals of the co-accused in the case were still pending before the Supreme Court and suggested that Rajoana's petition be addressed alongside them. The court had also directed the Central Government to submit a decision on Rajoana's mercy petition within a day, ordering a responsible officer to file an affidavit in response.

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

In May of last year, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to decide on Balwant Singh Rajoana's mercy petition within two months, emphasizing that the decision should not be influenced by the pending appeals of other convicts involved in the case.

Rajoana was convicted in 1995 for his role in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, along with sixteen other casualties, in an explosion outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh. After being sentenced to death by a special court in 2007, Rajoana’s mercy petition has remained pending since 2012.