Which Indian President Pardoned the Most Death Row Prisoners?

Last Update:20 November 2024 18:28 IST

Under Article 72 of the Constitution of India, convicts can petition the President for clemency, pardon, reduction of sentence or temporary suspension of sentence.

According to Article 72 of the Constitution of India, a convicted person can submit a mercy petition to the President. (Representative/PTI File)

The mercy petition of Balwant Singh Rajoana, who was found guilty of murdering former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, is pending with President Droupadi Murmu. In 2019, the government had decided to commute the death penalty on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

Rajoana, who spent 28 years in prison, is now seeking his release. The Supreme Court urged the President to take a decision on Rajoana’s mercy petition within two weeks.

Since the Constitution came into force in 1950, 440 mercy petitions have been submitted to various presidents of India. 308 of them were accepted and the death sentences of these convicts were commuted to life imprisonment.

Earlier, President Murmu had rejected the mercy petition of terrorist Arif, who was involved in the Red Fort attack. This marks the second time President Murmu has rejected the request for clemency since taking office. The Supreme Court also rejected Arif’s review petition on November 3, 2022 and approved the death penalty given for the crime he committed.

According to Article 72 of the Constitution of India, a convicted person can submit a mercy petition to the President. The purpose of the President’s pardon power is to provide the convict with the opportunity for amnesty by allowing him to request pardon or sentence reduction. The President has the authority to temporarily suspend any sentence.

Governors of the states also have the authority to pardon. This right is given to them under Article 161 of the Constitution of India. While the President will consider the recommendations of the Union Cabinet on amnesty matters, the final decision is solely at their discretion.

In India, a mercy petition represents the last resort in the legal process. If the president denies a prisoner’s request for clemency, the prisoner will be left without other legal remedies.

The country’s 14th President, Ram Nath Kovind, rejected all amnesty requests submitted to him during his tenure. Notably, he rejected the mercy petition of Jagat Rai, who was found guilty of killing six people in Bihar’s Vaishali district. Rai had tragically killed a woman and her five children by locking them in their home and setting the house on fire.

Additionally, President Kovind also addressed the mercy petitions of four convicts in the Nirbhaya murder case: Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Kumar Singh. He rejected their petitions and all four were later hanged in Tihar Jail.

The last mercy petition rejected during President Kovind’s tenure was the petition of Sanjay, who was sentenced to death in July 2006.

Which President received the most petitions?

The country’s first President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad received the most mercy petitions of any President. During his term of office, he received 181 petitions, accepted 180 of them and commuted the sentences of these convicts to life imprisonment. He merely rejected a plea for mercy.

After Dr Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain and VV Giri served as Chairman. Radhakrishnan received 57 mercy petitions, Zakir Hussain received 22 and VV Giri received three. All three commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment in all petitions they received.

Not even a single mercy petition was submitted to the country’s fourth President, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. The next President N. Sanjiva Reddy also did not receive any mercy petition. A total of 32 petitions were submitted to Zail Singh, who is among the famous Presidents; He accepted only two and rejected the remaining 30. The next President, R Venkataraman, rejected 45 out of 50 petitions; this was the highest figure ever.