In Brief
This case concerns a death-row convict in the 2012 Delhi gangrape case challenging the President's rejection of his mercy petition. The petitioner argued that relevant materials were withheld, the petition was rejected too swiftly suggesting pre-determined bias, he suffered solitary confinement in violation of law, and his prison sufferings were not considered. The Supreme Court held that while mercy petition decisions are subject to limited judicial review on narrow grounds—non-application of mind, mala fides, extraneous considerations, withheld materials, or arbitrariness—swift rejection alone cannot demonstrate non-application of mind or bias if all relevant materials were properly considered. The Court dismissed the petition, holding that the prescribed procedure was followed.
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