SC dismisses plea for 1999 verdict's recall

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea by AG Perarivalan, convicted in the conspiracy leading to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, for recall of the 1999 judgement upholding life imprisonment to him.

A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi refused to recall its order while hearing Perarivalan's plea, who supplied two 9-volt batteries used in the explosive device that killed Gandhi at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.

"We are satisfied that the order of this court doesn't required to be reconsidered. We dismiss the plea for recall of the order," said the court.

The top court had upheld the conviction of Perarivalan and six others on May 11, 1998, and their review plea was dismissed on October 8, 1999.

Perarivalan is one of the seven convicts undergoing life imprisonment in the assassination case.

Perarivalan had approached the apex court after Superintendent of Police V. Thiyagarajan, who had recorded his (Perarivalan) confessional statement under TADA, said in an affidavit that the Central Bureau of Investigation suppressed a part of Perarivalan's statement that he was not aware of the conspiracy and the purpose for which the two 9-volt batteries supplied by him would be used.

Perarivalan had been convicted on the basis of his confessional statement.

The CBI sought dismissal of his plea for order recall as it sought to re-open the entire issue, that has attained a finality, after a gap of 17 years and also because it was devoid of both merit and law.

The CBI said: "... the investigation into the role of the petitioner (Perarivalan) was scrutinised at various levels of judiciary, legislative and executive authority and no fault was noticed on the investigation."

The central agency also told the court that the response was being filed by the Multi Disciplinary Monitoring Agency -- looking into the larger conspiracy angle -- as the Special Investigating Team that probed the Rajiv Gandhi assassination had ceased to exist.