The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned why Balwant Singh Rajoana, sentenced to death for the 1995 assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, has not yet been executed, after the Centre described the crime as a &ldquo;serious offence.&rdquo;
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria sought answers from Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj. &ldquo;Why did you not hang him till now? Who is to blame for that? At least, we have not stayed the execution,&rdquo; the bench remarked.
The court was hearing Rajoana&rsquo;s plea seeking commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment, citing inordinate delay in deciding his mercy petition.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Rajoana, said no decision has been taken on the mercy plea. 
He questioned whether Rajoana was in solitary confinement or mentally sound, stressing, &ldquo;If the death sentence has to go, commutation must happen. If commutation happens, he can come out.&rdquo; 
He also argued that Rajoana is an Indian citizen and the matter should not be viewed as an &ldquo;India-Pakistan issue.&rdquo;
Rohatgi pointed out that the mercy petition was not filed by Rajoana himself, but by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in March 2012 under Article 72 of the Constitution.
Nataraj told the bench he would seek instructions and update the court on the petition&rsquo;s status. 
The bench posted the case for October 15, making it clear the matter would not be adjourned at the Centre&rsquo;s request.
Earlier, on January 20, the apex court had directed the Centre to decide on the mercy petition. 
The government then cited the sensitivity of the issue, saying it was still under consideration. 
On September 25, 2024, the court had also sought responses from the Centre, Punjab government, and Chandigarh administration on Rajoana&rsquo;s plea.
Beant Singh and 16 others were killed on August 31, 1995, in a bomb blast at the entrance of the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh. 
A special court sentenced Rajoana to death in July 2007.
Rajoana&rsquo;s latest petition highlights that he has spent 28.8 years in prison, including over 15 years as a death row convict. 
On May 3, 2023, the Supreme Court had refused to commute his sentence, leaving the decision to the competent authority handling his mercy plea.

Supreme Court bench questions delay in execution

Top court asks why Beant Singh assassin Rajoana not hanged despite mercy plea pending

SC Questions Delay In Rajoana’s Execution

Top court asks why Beant Singh assassin Rajoana not hanged despite mercy plea pending

September 24, 2025 | 17:58 IST