Mercy pleas(e)! Govt needs time

New Delhi: The Government does not plan to set a deadline for deciding on the clemency petition of terrorists given the death sentence, said Home Minister Shivraj Patil in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

A clemency petition to the President has to pass through many authorities, beginning with a reference to the concerned state government, said Patil while speaking during Question Hour.

The petition is then sent to the Union Home Ministry, after which it comes to the Union Cabinet, which gives its recommendation to the President.

As there are so many steps, "it will be impractical to provide a timeframe," he was quoted by PTI as saying.

Asked if the President applies his own mind on such requests or goes by the decision of the Cabinet, the Home Minister said, according to the Constitution "wherever President is mentioned, it means the executive, the Cabinet."

On the clemency petition of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, Patil said it was referred to the Delhi government for opinion, after which it has to come to the Central government.

He, however, did not clearly say if the Delhi government has given its opinion on the issue and the case has come to the Union Home Ministry for consideration.

The Constitution provides for any person awarded death sentence to appeal to the President for clemency and if this has to be scrapped it should be based on "solid reasoning".

"It is felt that for administration of justice in a proper and humane manner, the power of President to pardon should be continued," he said.

Patil said it was "not for the executive to decide if the sovereign authority of the President to pardon someone should be withdrawn".

The government does not propose to bring an amendment to the Constitution to abolish the provision, he added.

"The framers of the Constitution had applied their mind when they included this provision," he said.

Pointing that even the 90-day time frame prescribed for filing of a chargesheet in criminal cases was not adhered to many a time, Patil said there exists no timeframe for deciding on cases in courts.