Kalam OKs mercy plea of Jaipur Death Row convict

Even as about 20 clemency pleas lie undecided with President A P J Abdul Kalam, including the one of Afzal Guru...

Even as about 20 clemency pleas lie undecided with President A P J Abdul Kalam, including the one of Afzal Guru, last week he decided to convert the death penalty of one convict into a term of life imprisonment.

The case concerns Kheraj Ram, about 60 years old, who had killed his wife, two children and his brother-in-law in a village in Rajasthan on October 10, 1992 in a manner the Supreme Court called “cruel and diabolic.”

According to constitutional norms, the President is required to deal with clemency cases on the advice of the Home Ministry and, in this case, the state government and the Home Ministry recommended the commutation to life imprisonment. The Home Ministry is understood to have also consulted the Law Ministry in the matter.

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However, in keeping with recent judgments of the Supreme Court, the Home Ministry is understood to have advised that Kheraj Ram’s life imprisonment will last “until he breathes his last.’’

Sources say the President quickly processed the plea for mercy and in consonance with the Government’s advice, saved him from the gallows.

This death penalty case has seen a see-saw swing in Kheraj Ram’s fortunes. While the trial court found him guilty and awarded the death penalty, the Rajasthan High Court acquitted him of the charges after which the case was heard by the Supreme Court.

On August 27, 2003, the Supreme Court reversed the High Court order saying the accused had killed his wife, Amru, two innocent children and his brother-in-law without remorse for such a gruesome act.

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It is to be recalled that last year, the President had himself suggested to the Home Ministry that a compassionate view be taken against aged and infirm persons on Death Row and that a rehabilitation scheme for them be introduced.

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