7 convicts release: ‘Cabinet resolution is zero’

The arguments transpired before a division bench, comprising Justices R Subbiah and R Pongiappan, who reserved orders without mentioning a date. During the hearing, State Public Prosecutor A Natarajan submitted that the State can only recommend or request the Governor to consider their release. Nobody has power to ask the Governor as to what happened to the resolution, he said. Unless any order is passed, there is no question of illegal detention, he added along with noting that commutation of their death sentence to life sentence has been confirmed by the SC and hence it is not an illegal detention and so HCP will not lie.

Additional solicitor general G Rajagopalan submitted that unless there was an order in the name of the Governor, it was not an illegal detention.

However, Natrajan in response to the additional solicitor general’s submission describing TN cabinet’s resolution as ‘Zero’, said the intention of the government was to release these convicts but it has no power to do so.

Advocate M Radhakrishnan, appearing for Nalini reiterated that the resolution passed by the Council of Ministers was binding on the Governor. Since the TN cabinet had advised the Governor as early as on September 9, 2018 to release the petitioner under Article 161 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner ought to have been released on September 10, 2018 itself by the TN Government.