Verdict on petition against Rajiv Gandhi killers in a week:CJI

The Supreme Court's verdict on the petition by the Centre challenging Tamil Nadu Government's decision to release all seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case would be pronounced within a week, Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam indicated here today.
The petition was pending before the court and arguments had been completed. Since he was demitting office as CJI on April 25, the verdict will be given before that, he told reporters here replying to a specific question about the petition.
When scribes persisted with more questions on the issue, Justice Sathasivam, here to attend a Judges' conference, quipped "It is not correct to talk about the case. Your colleagues in Delhi will tell you about it in another week."

On February 20, a bench headed by the CJI has stayed the state government's order, saying there have been procedural lapses on the part of the state.
The Centre had filed a petition challenging the state government's authority in ordering the release of all seven convicts, a day after the Supreme Court rejected its appeal against the commutation of death sentence to three convicts in the case -- Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan.
To a question on pending cases in various Courts, Justice Sathasivam said in a huge country like India, it was quite natural to have large number of cases and the courts were taking efforts to clear them.

More over, during the last two to three years, the government has brought out new laws by which cases like domestic violence act and rape (IPC 376), recorded an increase, he said.
The Supreme Court has identified cases like compensation in motor vehicle offences, bank loans, cheque bouncing for early disposals, through Lok Adalats once in a year, he said, adding that considering the success of Lok Adalat, it decided to conduct it twice a year.