(Image source from: Rajiv Gandhi's assassins spared the gallows})

After a painfully long wait, spanning over a decade now, Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan have been spared the gallows.

The decision was conferred by the Supreme Court of India which commuted the death sentence of the three condemned prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case to life imprisonment. The decision came as a breather for the killers, who have waited for 11 long years for their mercy plea to fall in to the apex courts ears.

A bench led by Chief Justice P Sathasivam slammed the Centre's unreasonable claim that there had been no unnecessary delay on deciding on the mercy plea and that condemned prisoners enjoyed their  life behind the bars.

The bench, which also included justices Ranjan Gogoi and SK Singh, strongly refuted Centre's view and commuted the death sentence to imprisonment for life subject to remission by the government.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in May 1991. The assassins were convicted by a TADA court in January 1998 and were given death sentence. The apex court confirmed the sentence on May 11, 1999.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury