{"id":7263,"date":"2025-09-25T06:32:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T01:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/29-years-behind-bars-why-did-you-not-hang-him-till-now-scs-sharp-rebuke-to-government\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T17:34:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T12:04:41","slug":"29-years-behind-bars-why-did-you-not-hang-him-till-now-scs-sharp-rebuke-to-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263","title":{"rendered":"29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">The Supreme Court Bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria voiced sharp disapproval of the Union government&rsquo;s unexplained delay in acting on a mercy petition pending since 2012.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:center\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">When the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) sought more time to submit a status report, the Bench made it clear that the case could not be postponed any further. Justice Mehta remarked, &ldquo;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"><strong>Question is why did you not hang him till now? Who is to be blamed for that? At least we would not have stayed his execution.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">The Court clarified that the matter will be taken up on 15 October and &ldquo;<\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"><strong>will not be adjourned at the account of the Respondent.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"> This follows an earlier order in January where a special Bench led by the Chief Justice had already given the Union <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"><strong>&ldquo;one last opportunity&rdquo;<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"> to decide the mercy petition, failing which the plea would be decided by the Court itself.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"><strong>Background: <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">The matter arose out of the assassination of the then Chief Minister of Punjab, Beant Singh, at the Chandigarh Secretariat complex on 31 August 1995. The bombing killed the Chief Minister along with sixteen others. The assailant was Dilawar Singh, a Punjab police officer, allegedly backed by two other police officials, including the present petitioner. The separatist group Babbar Khalsa International claimed responsibility, citing retaliation for Operation Bluestar and the 1984 anti-Sikh pogrom.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">Out of fifteen accused named in the FIR, eight&mdash;including the petitioner&mdash;were convicted by a Special CBI Court on 27 July 2007 under Sections 120-B, 302, 307 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3(b), 4(b), 5(b) read with Section 6 of the Explosive Substances Act.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">Co-accused Jagtar Singh Hawara was also sentenced to death but later had his sentence commuted to life by the Punjab &amp; Haryana High Court on 12 October 2010. Other co-accused were awarded life imprisonment.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">The petitioner refused to appeal against his conviction or sentence, declaring open derision of the judicial system. A death warrant was issued on 5 March 2012, but before the execution, the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) filed a mercy petition under Article 72 on 25 March 2012. This led to an intimation of stay on 28 March 2012 while the petition was processed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">In 2019, the Union had publicly announced that the death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment as part of a humanitarian gesture to mark Guru Nanak Dev&rsquo;s 550th birth anniversary.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">However, no order of commutation followed, and the Home Minister later confirmed in Parliament that the petitioner remained on death row.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">Since 2020, the petitioner has been approaching the Supreme Court repeatedly for commutation, citing inordinate delay and prolonged solitary confinement. His counsel Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued that the situation engages Article 21 and Section 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">He stressed that the provisions on mercy do not depend on who moves the petition: <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"><strong>&ldquo;<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">With great respect, this is contrary to the provisions. The provisions say it does not matter who moves; it should be considered. It is a matter of Article 21 and 433 [CrPC].&rdquo;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"><strong>Court&rsquo;s Observations and Present Posture:<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">Over the years, the Supreme Court has passed a series of orders directing the Union to take a decision on the mercy petition. In March 2022 a Bench led by Justice U.U. Lalit had required the Government to act by 30 April 2022 &ldquo;irrespective of the appeals pending before the Court.&rdquo;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">Yet, as Rohatgi pointed out at the latest hearing, &ldquo;so much time has gone by&rdquo; and the Union &ldquo;keeps referring to the security of the nation&rdquo; as the reason for non-decision. He questioned how the release of one individual would threaten national security when the issue before the Court was only to end his continued stay on death row.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">Justice Mehta noted that under Rajasthan Jail Rules &ldquo;if a person has committed terror-related offences, they are not eligible for parole,&rdquo; indicating that even if the sentence were commuted, premature release would not automatically follow. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">Justice Nath asked how co-accused Bhullar had been released. Senior advocate Rohatgi explained the steps that led to the commutation of Bhullar&rsquo;s death sentence and his eventual release.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">He added that the petitioner has now spent twenty-nine years in prison, fifteen of them under a death sentence, and &ldquo;one does not know what is going on&rdquo; with his mental state due to prolonged solitary confinement.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">With the Bench&rsquo;s pointed remarks &#8211; <\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"><strong>&ldquo;Question is why did you not hang him till now? Who is to be blamed for that?&rdquo;<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"> &#8211; the Court has put the Union on notice that further delay is unacceptable.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">The next hearing is fixed for 15 October with a clear direction that no adjournments will be entertained.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n <hr \/>\n \n <p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align:justify\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\">Case Title : <\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/api.sci.gov.in\/supremecourt\/2024\/43131\/43131_2024_3_105_64546_Order_24-Sep-2025.pdf\" style=\"text-decoration-line:none\"><span style=\"font-size:16pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Georgia,serif\"><span style=\"color:#0563c1\">Balwant Singh v. UOI &amp; Ors, W.P.(Crl.) No. 414\/2024<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><br \/>\n \n <br \/>\n \n &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court Bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria voiced sharp disapproval of the Union government&rsquo;s unexplained delay in acting on a mercy petition pending since 2012. When the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) sought more time to submit a status report, the Bench made it clear that the case [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":9443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supreme-court"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.5 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019 - Lawful Talks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Supreme Court Bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria voiced sharp disapproval of the Union government&rsquo;s unexplained delay in acting on a mercy petition pending since 2012. When the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) sought more time to submit a status report, the Bench made it clear that the case [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lawful Talks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-25T01:02:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-21T12:04:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d013ec54b12b10b14399df56a59023ac_2.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Het Dedhia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Het Dedhia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Het Dedhia\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e914a4dccea82bc7aa3ada85c14e07d0\"},\"headline\":\"29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-25T01:02:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-21T12:04:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263\"},\"wordCount\":823,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d013ec54b12b10b14399df56a59023ac_2.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Supreme Court\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263\",\"name\":\"29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019 - Lawful Talks\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d013ec54b12b10b14399df56a59023ac_2.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-25T01:02:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-21T12:04:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d013ec54b12b10b14399df56a59023ac_2.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d013ec54b12b10b14399df56a59023ac_2.jpeg\",\"width\":850,\"height\":650},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?p=7263#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lawful Talks\",\"description\":\"Trusted Legal News and Thoughtful Analysis.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Lawful Talks\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/open-graph-image-lawful-talks.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/open-graph-image-lawful-talks.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Lawful Talks\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e914a4dccea82bc7aa3ada85c14e07d0\",\"name\":\"Het Dedhia\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5190f84fa8a7f33e584ac7f9415321cf75a94de0daae154b95a69e8740f7033d?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5190f84fa8a7f33e584ac7f9415321cf75a94de0daae154b95a69e8740f7033d?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5190f84fa8a7f33e584ac7f9415321cf75a94de0daae154b95a69e8740f7033d?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Het Dedhia\"},\"description\":\"3rd Year Law Student from SVKM's Pravin Gandhi College of Law\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\\\/?author=100\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019 - Lawful Talks","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019","og_description":"The Supreme Court Bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria voiced sharp disapproval of the Union government&rsquo;s unexplained delay in acting on a mercy petition pending since 2012. When the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) sought more time to submit a status report, the Bench made it clear that the case [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263","og_site_name":"Lawful Talks","article_published_time":"2025-09-25T01:02:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-21T12:04:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":850,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d013ec54b12b10b14399df56a59023ac_2.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Het Dedhia","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Het Dedhia","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263"},"author":{"name":"Het Dedhia","@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/#\/schema\/person\/e914a4dccea82bc7aa3ada85c14e07d0"},"headline":"29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019","datePublished":"2025-09-25T01:02:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-21T12:04:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263"},"wordCount":823,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d013ec54b12b10b14399df56a59023ac_2.jpeg","articleSection":["Supreme Court"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263","url":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263","name":"29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019 - Lawful Talks","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d013ec54b12b10b14399df56a59023ac_2.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-09-25T01:02:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-21T12:04:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d013ec54b12b10b14399df56a59023ac_2.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d013ec54b12b10b14399df56a59023ac_2.jpeg","width":850,"height":650},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?p=7263#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"29 Years Behind Bars; \u2018Why Did You Not Hang Him Till Now?\u2019: SC\u2019s Sharp Rebuke To \u2018Government\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/","name":"Lawful Talks","description":"Trusted Legal News and Thoughtful Analysis.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/#organization","name":"Lawful Talks","url":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/open-graph-image-lawful-talks.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/open-graph-image-lawful-talks.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Lawful Talks"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/#\/schema\/person\/e914a4dccea82bc7aa3ada85c14e07d0","name":"Het Dedhia","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5190f84fa8a7f33e584ac7f9415321cf75a94de0daae154b95a69e8740f7033d?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5190f84fa8a7f33e584ac7f9415321cf75a94de0daae154b95a69e8740f7033d?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5190f84fa8a7f33e584ac7f9415321cf75a94de0daae154b95a69e8740f7033d?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Het Dedhia"},"description":"3rd Year Law Student from SVKM's Pravin Gandhi College of Law","url":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/?author=100"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7263"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9442,"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7263\/revisions\/9442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawfultalks3.selfst.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}