The Central Information Commission has directed the Union home ministry to provide copies of file notings and correspondence on the mercy pleas of Rajiv Gandhi assassins, Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, who have been awarded a death sentence.
Treating the petition of the Delhi human rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer K. Mayils-amy as a “fit case concerning life and liberty”, Chief Information Comm-issioner Satya-nanda Mishra directed the ministry to provide the relevant information within seven working days.
The President’s office had transferred Mr Mayilsamy request for information on the rejection of the mercy pleas to the home ministry, which, however, refused to give it, claiming exemption from the provisions of the Right to Information Act. Pulling up the ministry for its refusal, Mr Mishra directed it to disclose the file notings and the correspondence, however, allo-wing it to remove names and references to public servants considering the sensitivity of the case.
“The complainant will be free to approach the appellate authority if he is not satisfied with the CPIO’s decision,” the order said. Mr Mayilsamy said it was the fundamental right of the three prisoners, who are facing the gallows, to know why their mercy pleas were rejected. “Since it took 11 long years for the President to reject their plea, it is crucial to see whether there was any unreasonable delay in the matter,” he said.