Amritsar, April 1: Balwant Singh Rajoana has communicated a 10-day ultimatum to the Akal Takht, urging the religious body to direct the SGPC to withdraw his pending mercy petition. Rajoana, who was convicted for the 1995 assassination of then-Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, declared that he will begin a hunger strike if the request is not honored by the end of the 10-day period.
In his letter to the Akal Takht Jathedar, Rajoana expressed frustration over the three decades he has spent in custody. He maintained that after 30 years of waiting, it appears that “no one seems to be bothered” by the lack of a definitive conclusion to his legal status. He stated that the withdrawal of the petition, which has been under consideration by the President of India for over a decade, is now his primary objective.
“This should be done within 10 days,” Rajoana asserted regarding the retraction of the filing. This is not the first instance of the convict seeking this path; a similar request was made last year after the Supreme Court of India refused to intervene in his sentencing. The apex court had previously stated that the central government would decide on the matter when it deemed necessary.
The SGPC filed the mercy plea in 2012 on Rajoana’s behalf, but the convict has repeatedly signaled his opposition to the ongoing delay. With the Supreme Court having already ruled against a mandatory commutation to life imprisonment in 2023, Rajoana is now focusing on the complete withdrawal of the plea through religious and administrative channels.
