Observing that it cannot help out of turn,the Supreme Court on Friday declined to intervene in the case of Balwant Singh Rajoana,who refuses to appeal against his death penalty for the killing of Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. A Bench of Justices TS Thakur and Gyan Sudha Misra was hearing a writ petition filed by Abhinav Ramkrishna,an advocate,against Rajoanas execution,saying he cannot be hanged unless the entire gamut of legal remedies available to him is exhausted. Senior advocate P S Narasimha,counsel for Ramkrishna,submitted that though Rajoana has admitted his guilt,it is ultimately the duty of the State to afford him every opportunity in law to fight the death penalty. If not his fundamental rights will be violated, Narasimha argued. Asked what his locus standi was to file a writ petition,which is filed in a constitutional court only if there is a perceived violation of fundamental rights,the lawyer said he just wanted to bring the Rajoana case to the attention of the court. I dont think we can do much in this case. Yes,under Article 32 (writ petition) we can enforce fundamental rights of a person,but here the convict himself does not want to enforce his fundamental rights, Justice Thakur said. Dismissing the lawyers arguments,Justice Misra said: News reports say the convict himself does not want to appeal,so what is your locus standi? In criminal matters,a third party has no role to play. But he (Rajoana) can appeal at any stage,he has to. Justice Thakur added. This hearing comes a day after another bench of the SC observed that a high drama was played out in the Rajoana case,and clemency was sought for someone who had assassinated the former chief minister. The Centre has already stayed Rajoanas scheduled execution on March 31 after Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal met President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday seeking clemency for Rajoana.
