In Brief
Mukesh Kumar, a death-row convict in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape case, challenged the President's rejection of his mercy petition under Article 72 of the Constitution. He argued that relevant materials were not placed before the President, that the decision was made with a pre-determined mind due to swift rejection, and that his prison sufferings and solitary confinement were not considered. The Court held that while mercy decisions are subject to limited judicial review on narrow grounds (non-application of mind, mala fides, extraneous considerations, or excluded relevant materials), the swift three-day processing did not evidence non-application of mind where the Presidential note was detailed and all relevant statutory documents were placed. The petition was dismissed.", <parameter name="cited_cases">[ {"raw_citation": "(2017) 6 SCC 1", "case_name": "Mukesh and Another v. State (NCT of Delhi) and Others", "cited_year": "2017", "paragraph": "2", "treatment": "referred"}, {"raw_citation": "(2013) 6 SCC 195", "case_name": "Devender Pal Singh Bhullar v. State of (NCT of Delhi)", "cited_year": "2013", "paragraph": "10", "treatment": "referred"}, {"raw_citation": "(1989) 1 SCC 204", "case_name": "Kehar Singh v. Union of India", "cited_year": "1989", "paragraph": "11", "treatment": "referred"}, {"raw_citation": "(2014) 3 SCC 1", "case_name": "Shatrughan Chauhan and another v. Union of India and others", "cited_year": "2014", "paragraph": "11", "treatment": "relied"}, {"raw_citation": "(2000) 5 SCC 170", "case_name": "Satpal v. State of Haryana", "cited_year": "2000", "paragraph": "14", "treatment": "approved"}, {"raw_citation": "(2004) 7 SCC 634", "case_name": "Bikas Chatterjee v. Union of India and Another", "cited_year": "2004", "paragraph": "14", "treatment": "relied"}, {"raw_citation": "(2006) 8 SCC 161", "case_name": "Epuru Sudhakar and Another v. Govt. of A.P. and Others", "cited_year": "2006", "paragraph": "16", "treatment": "referred"}, {"raw_citation": "(2011) 4 SCC 353", "case_name": "Narayan Dutt and others v. State of Punjab and another", "cited_year": "2011", "paragraph": "16", "treatment": "referred"}, {"raw_citation": "(1991) 3 SCC 498", "case_name": "Ashok Kumar v. Union of India", "cited_year": "1991", "paragraph": "13", "treatment": "referred"}, {"raw_citation": "(1998) 4 SCC 75", "case_name": "Swaran Singh v. State of U.P.", "cited_year": "1998", "paragraph": "13", "treatment": "referred"}, {"raw_citation": "(1978) 4 SCC 494", "case_name": "Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration and Others", "cited_year": "1978", "paragraph": "6", "treatment": "referred"}, {"raw_citation": "(1981) 1 SCC 107", "case_name": "Maru Ram v. Union of India and others", "cited_year": "1981", "paragraph": "14", "treatment": "referred"} ]
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