STATE Vs. NALINI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RAJIV Gandhi, a former Prime Minister of India was assassinated on 21/5/1991 at a place called Sriperumpudur in Tamil Nadu. The- assassin was an adolescent girl named Dhanu who was made into a human bomb and she got herself exploded at 10.19 P.M. at very close proximity to the visiting former Prime MinisteR.In a trice the life of RAJIV Gandhi was snuffed out and his body was smashed into smithereens. As for the assassin nothing except a few pieces of charred limbs and her sundered head were left behind. In the explosion lives of 18 others also got extinguished. Investigation pointed to a minutely orchestrated cabal, masterminded by some conspirators to extirpate the former Prime Minister from this terrestrial terrain. In the final charge-sheet made by the central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) all the 26 appellants now before us, were arraigned as members of the conspiracy which targetted, inter alia, RAJIV Gandhi. The Special Judge who tried the case found all the 26 appellants guilty of various offences charged, the gravamen of them being Section 302 read with Section 120-B Indian Penal Code. All of them were hence convicted of those offences and all of them were sentenced to death.

(2.) THESE appeals by right are under Section 19 of the Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA for short). The Special Judge submitted the records to this court for confirmation of the death sentence. We heard all the above matters together at great length, perhaps the longest heard criminal appeal in this country. Shri Altaf Ahmad, Additional Solicitor General who was assisted by a team of Advocates argued the prosecution side adroitly and with great dedication. The accused's side was represented by Shri N. Natarajan, Senior Counsel who was assisted by array of counsel with meticulous preparation and admirable resourcefulness.

(3.) WHEN Sri Lankan government found it difficult to meet the situation by themselves, the government sought assistance from government of India for tackling the problem. This was reciprocated by the government of India. Some parleys took place between the diplomats of both nations in 1987. The President of Sri Lanka (MR.Jayawardhane) and the Prime Minister of India (Sri Rajiv Gandhi) met together at New Delhi and Velluppillai Piribhakaran was also invited to be involved. An accord was signed by-the aforesaid three persons by which Indian government agreed, inter alia, to form a cadre called Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF for short). One of the tasks assigned to the force was to disarm LTTE militants. Pursuant to the terms of the accord government of India despatched large number of IPKF personnel to Sri Lanka. While discharging their duties the IPKF committed many excesses which became inhuman conduct towards the followers of LTTE. Consequently hostility developed in the minds of LTTE cadre towards IPK Force. To register their protest against such excesses one of the LTTE hardcore activists by name Dileepan undertook a fast and he succumbed to it after a few days.