In Brief
Balwant Singh was convicted and sentenced to death for assassinating the Chief Minister of Punjab. While his co-accused Jagtar Singh Hawara successfully challenged the death sentence in the High Court and got it commuted to life imprisonment, Balwant Singh's conviction and sentence were upheld. The government delayed considering his pending mercy petition, citing pending appeals by the co-accused. The Supreme Court held that Article 72 mercy petitions must be considered independently for each convict, regardless of appeals filed by others. The Court directed the government to decide the mercy petition without delay within two months, uninfluenced by co-accused appeals."
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