The Madras High Court on Friday rejected a plea from Nalini Sriharan and Ravichandran, both convicted in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, to order their release without even the consent of the State Governor.
The court observed that the High Courts do not have the power under Article 226 of the Constitution to do so, unlike the Supreme Court which enjoyed the special power under Article 142, the first bench of Chief Justice M N Bhandari and Justice N Mala said.
The bench was dismissing two writ petitions from Nalini and Ravichandran, today. The Supreme Court had ordered the release of A G Perarivalan, another convict in the same case on May 18 after using the special power available to it under Article 142 of the Constitution. The same yardstick should be applied by the High Court also in their case, the duo contended.
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