Jayalakshmi K. has completed her B.Sc. Computer science and graduated with an LLB from Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University in Chennai.
Abstract
The article which describes about the famous case law Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi who is Former Prime Minister of India. The article had described about the facts, traceable, time line and provisions were took place in this case.
Introduction
The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi (Suicide bombing), the former Prime Minister of India, on May 21, 1991, sent shock waves across the nation and the world. The event, orchestrated by members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant group from Sri Lanka, not only resulted in the loss of a prominent political figure but also raised numerous questions about security, regional conflicts, and the intricate dynamics of South Asian politics.
Facts of the incidence
The assassination took place during a campaign rally in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, where Rajiv Gandhi was addressing supporters ahead of the 1991[1] Indian general elections. The suicide bombing, carried out by a female LTTE operative, claimed the lives of Rajiv Gandhi and 14 others (”State of Tamil Nadu v. Nalini and Others”), leaving many more injured. The immediate aftermath of the attack spurred a massive investigation to uncover the perpetrators and understand the motives behind the heinous act.
Background
Rajiv Gandhi, who became India’s youngest prime minister at 40, was assassinated on May 21, 1991, by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Similar to his mother, Indira Gandhi, who was also assassinated, both incidents followed military interventions that angered certain extremist factions. Indira had deployed the military against Khalistani leader Bhindranwale in Punjab, provoking Sikh extremists, while Rajiv intervened in Sri Lanka with the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF).
The LTTE[2] was alarmed by the potential return of Rajiv as prime minister in the 1991 elections and the prospect of redeploying the IPKF, prompting them to assassinate him.
LTTE, an armed Tamil group in Sri Lanka, targeted Rajiv Gandhi for assassination due to his deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to assist the Sri Lankan government. While initially sent to aid, the IPKF’s mission evolved into a conflict with the LTTE. Even after the IPKF mission concluded in 1990, the LTTE, viewing Rajiv as their primary adversary, executed the assassination. This decision was made by their chief Velupillai Prabhakaran in November 1990,
Dhanu, the female suicide bomber from LTTE, conducted two practice runs for the assassination. In the initial run, they attended a rally of the late AIADMK leader Jayalalitha. The second rehearsal involved planning the assassination of VP Singh. During this second run, Dhanu executed a traditional Indian gesture of respect by touching Singh’s feet, similar to her actions with Rajiv on May 21.
On the tragic day, May 21, Rajiv arrived at the Sriperumbudur rally venue after 10 pm. The setup included separate galleries for men and women. Rajiv initially visited the men’s section before proceeding to the women’s section.
Rajiv approached the women’s section and intervened when a policewoman named Anusuya Daisy attempted to prevent Dhanu from approaching him. Shortly afterward, Dhanu detonated explosives, leading to the tragic deaths of Gandhi and 14 others.
Dhanu was part of the eight “core” members of the LTTE group responsible for Rajiv’s assassination. The other members, as outlined in Minhaz Merchant’s biography, included Shivarasan, Murugan, Arivu, Shubha, and the three local individuals Bhagyanathan, Nalini, and Padma.
At the site of the assassination, the five squad members were Dhanu, Shivarasan, Nalini, Shubha, and Haribabu. Haribabu, who was photographing during the blast, died alongside Dhanu, while the other three fled. Among these nine individuals, only Nalini was captured alive by Indian investigators. The rest, including Shivarasan, took their own lives, either through suicide or cyanide consumption as investigators closed in on them.
In 1998, a TADA court in Chennai sentenced 26 individuals to death in connection with Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. However, the Supreme Court in 1999 acquitted 19 of them, commuted the death sentences of three, and upheld the death sentences of four, including Nalini, Murugan, Santhan, and AG Perarivalan.
In 2014, the Supreme Court commuted the remaining three death sentences to life imprisonment. Controversies arose around these convictions, especially regarding Perarivalan’s confession, which was later revealed to be false. Former CBI SP V Thiagarajan admitted to altering Perarivalan’s statement and expressed regret for doing so. Recently, the Supreme Court ordered the release of Perarivalan.
Justice KT Thomas, part of the 1999 Supreme Court bench in the assassination case, raised the “double jeopardy” issue in 2013, asserting that executing the convicts after 23 years would be unconstitutional. This argument contributed to the Supreme Court’s decision in 2014 to commute the death sentences of three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
The release of the six remaining convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case concludes a tragic episode rooted in India’s involvement in Sri Lanka’s internal strife in the 1980s. Despite public sympathy growing for the seven individuals found guilty over time, political pressure in Tamil Nadu led to campaigns for their release. The Supreme Court, in 2014, commuted death sentences to life, and a 2018 resolution for release under Article 161 faced delays. The recent court ruling found no constitutional basis for the Governor’s action, leading to the release of A.G. Perarivalan and others. While not a cause for celebration, the release acknowledges the extended imprisonment, considering the masterminds are deceased and those released were mid-level operatives and local collaborators.
Timeline
The time line[3] how the incidence took place in it,
> In 1991[4], General Assembly elections were announced in 4 states including Tamil Nadu. The moment AIADMK decided to travel with Congress in Tamil Nadu. On the evening of May 21, 1991, Rajiv Gandhi came to Chennai from Visakhapatnam for election campaign.
> 8.30 pm. Rajiv took off from Meenambakkam airport in Chennai accompanied by Vazhappadi Ramamurthy, Marakatham Chandrasekhar and officials and addressed public meetings at Porur and Poontamalli en route. 10 pm. Went to Sriperumbudur. There she garlanded the statue of Mother Indira Gandhi and went towards the platform of the public meeting.
> 10.20 pm. As Rajiv approached the dais, he was met by Mahila Congress’s Latha Kannan and her daughter Kokila. Then, Kokila heard the poem recited. Then, a woman standing nearby with a garland placed the garland around Rajiv’s neck and bent down and touched his leg. Then there was a terrible explosion.
> 10.25 pm. Rajiv Gandhi, Latha Kannan, Kogila, Tanu, the garlanded girl, District S.B. The bodies of 17 people, including Mohammad Iqbal and Rajiv Gandhi’s security officer, were lying in the pool of blood. Rajeev’s body was found by the shoes he was wearing and sent to the hospital. The body was sent to Delhi the next day.
> May 22. First Information Report registered at Sriperumbudur Police Station. The CBCIT of the state government constituted a committee and started the investigation.
> May 24. Case transferred to CBI. The Special Investigation Unit headed by DR Karthikeyan started the investigation. On the same day, the CBI registered a case.
> May 29. Photographs of suspected killer including woman released.
> Nalini’s mother Padma and brother Pakyanathan, who were staying in Chennai, were first arrested in the case on June 11 due to ongoing CBI investigations. On June 14, both Nalini and Murugan were arrested at Chennai’s Saidapet bus stand, followed by Robert Payas, Perariwalan and Jayakumar.
> July 27. LTTE members Vicky and Raghu arrested in Coimbatore. The next day Dixon and Guna who were members of the same organization died after consuming cyanide.
> August 17. 17 members of the LTTE took cyanide after learning that the police had surrounded them in Mudadi and Biruda areas of Karnataka, 12 of whom died. 5 people were caught.
> August 19. Acting on their tip-off, CBI officials cordoned off a house on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Sivarasan, Subha, Nehru, Suresh Master and Amman who were staying there drank poison.
> 1992 May 20. CBI files 55-page crime report in Chennai TADA court. In which Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and Akila were declared as mastermind criminals. 41 people were charged, including 26 who were in jail and 12 who died.
> 1998 January 28. Tada court sentenced all 26 people in jail to death. They appealed to the Supreme Court.
> 1999 May 5. In the judgment, only 4 people namely Nalini, Shanthan, Murugan and Perarivalan were confirmed to death. The death sentences of Robert Pius, Jayakumar and Ravichandran were commuted to life imprisonment. Shanmukha Vadivelu, charged under the TADA Act, was acquitted. Others were acquitted of the time served in prison.
> 1999 Oct 10. All the 4 convicts sent a mercy petition to Tamil Nadu Governor Fatima Bivi. On October 29, the governor dismissed those petitions. All four approached the High Court claiming that the Governor had taken the decision arbitrarily.
> 2000 April 19. Nalini’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment as per a decision taken by the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Karunanidhi. The other 3 convicts sent mercy petitions to the President.
> In 2007, when Pratibha Patil was the President, a mercy petition was sent to the Central Government. Subsequently, in 2011, the petitions were declared dismissed.
> In August 2011, Perariwalan, Chandan and Murugan filed a case in the Madras High Court demanding the cancellation of the death sentence, and the execution of all three was stayed. The case was transferred to the Supreme Court.
> 2014 February 18. The Supreme Court quashed the death sentences of Perariwalan, Chandan and Murugan citing pending mercy petitions.
> Feb. 19. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced the acquittal of the 7 accused as per the Cabinet resolution. The central government sought a stay in the Supreme Court against this. The next day the case was transferred to the Constitutional Court.
> 2015 December 2. A 5-judge bench headed by Ibrahim Ghalibullah said that the 7 people cannot be released without the approval of the Central Government, and ruled that the Central Government can release them under Article 161 without its approval.
> 2016 March 2. Tamil Nadu government to central government to allow release of 7 persons
>2018 Sep 6. Governor Ranjan Gogai said that he can decide on the release of 7 persons under Article 161.
> Sep 9, 2018. The Tamil Nadu cabinet passed a resolution to release all 7 people namely Chandan, Murugan, Perarivalan, Nalini, Ravichandran, Robert Payas and Jayakumar.
> 2021 May 20. M.K.Stalin, who took over as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, wrote a letter to the President to order the release of the 7 people as per the cabinet decision.
> 2022 May 18. The Supreme Court acquitted Perariwalan, who was in life imprisonment, on the recommendation of the state government for shortening the term of the governor.
> 2022 November 11. The Supreme Court heard the plea of Nalini and Ravichandran, who sought release based on the release of Perariwalan, and ordered the release of not only the two of them, but also 6 others who are in jail, namely Robert Pius, Murugan, Santhan and Jayakumar. This ended their imprisonment of more than 30 years.
Provision
The provisions[5] were charged against the accused are,
Indian Penal Code,
- Section 302 – Murder,Punishment -Death or imprisonment for life,
- Section 120B – Criminal conspiracy to commit offence punishable with death,Punishment – Same as that described for the offence for which conspiracy was entered into
- Section 326 – Voluntarily causing grevius hurt by dangerous weapons,Punishment – Imprisonment for life or imprisonment to the extent of ten years
- Section 324 – Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons,Punishment – Imprisonment to the extent of three years
- Sections 201 – Cause disappearance of evidence or give false information to screen offender,Punishment – Imprisonment to the extent of seven years
- Section 212 – Harbouring offender of capital crime,Punishment – Imprisonment to the extent of five years
- Section 216 – Harbouring capital offender whose arrest has been ordered,Punishment – Imprisonment upto seven years.
The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act
- Section 3(2)(i) – Terrorist act (intent to overawe the government, to strike terror, etc.) which has resulted in death,Punishment – Death or imprisonment for life
- Section 3 (3) – Conspires, or attempts to commit, or abets a terrorist act,Punishment – Five years to life imprisonment
- Section 4 – Disruptive activity, to interfere with the sovereignty and territorial integrity, support any claim for cession or secession of any part of India,Punishment – Five years to life imprisonment
- Section 5 – Possession of unauthorised arms,Punishment – Five years to life imprisonment both domestically and internationally.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Over the years, the case has been the subject of significant legal and political debate, particularly around the issue of clemency for the convicted individuals. The case has been periodically revisited due to public and political interest, as well as the legal appeals and petitions filed by those convicted. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi is viewed as a pivotal moment in Indian political history, highlighting the far-reaching consequences of international and domestic policies and the impact of extremist violence on the democratic process. The incident remains a point of reflection on the challenges of combating terrorism and ensuring justice within the framework of the law.
[1] The Hindu, May 2024
[2] Live mint
[3] Deccan Herald
[4] Financial Express
[5] The Logical Indian
