MHA says didnt hold back info on Das mercy petition

The home ministry statement came a day after the Supreme Court explained why it had commuted the death sentence of Das on Wednesday. The court said that the ministry had kept Patil in the dark about the full details of the case. It said Kalam had recommended clemency for Das,but since the home ministry did not agree with this view,it had sent the petition back to Patil after Kalam demitted office,with the advice that it should be rejected.

Patil rejected the mercy plea in May 2011. The court Thursday called the decision illegal as it was vitiated by the lack of adequate advice from the home ministry.

Without referring to the Supreme Courts observations,the home ministry said the entire file,including the minutes recorded by the previous President was placed before Patil for her consideration.

In the case of Mahendra Nath Das,a basic note was prepared on September 30,2010. Paragraph 10 of the basic note extracted the view recorded by President A P J Abdul Kalam. The joint secretary who submitted the note to the Home Minister also referred to the view of President A P J Abdul Kalam. The Home Minister recorded his advice to the President on October 12,2010. Thereafter,a summary for the President was prepared and submitted to the President on October 18,2010, the home ministry statement said.

On Wednesday,the Supreme Court had commuted the death sentence of Das into life imprisonment,accepting his petition challenging the rejection of his mercy plea by Patil. Sources said the home ministry is likely to file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a review of its order.