Arputhammal, mother of A G Perarivalan

The mother of one of the seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, whose death sentence was commuted to life by the Supreme Court, on Sunday appealed to political parties and leaders not to politicise the issue relating to the verdict on their release.

The comments of Ms. Arputhammal, mother of A G Perarivalan, come a day after DMK chief M Karunanidhi said that Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam’s indication that verdict on a petition to release of all seven lifers would be given in a week has led to fears of a “political fallout” in Tamil Nadu ahead of April 24 Lok Sabha polls.

“With polling scheduled on April 24, Justice Sathasivam saying that an important verdict will be pronounced before his retirement date of April 25 has led to fears among many if it will lead to political fallout and created a big debate among advocates,” Mr. Karunanidhi had said.

Talking to reporters here, Mr. Arputhammal said, “All I request is not to politicise the issue. We are hoping for a good verdict from Supreme Court later this week. What we fear is that due to such comments, it may get delayed.”

She has written a letter to Mr. Karunanidhi requesting him to refrain from making any comments on the case as the verdict was expected to come later this week.

“As we are expecting the release of my son who is serving jail term for 23 years, we fear due to your comments, it may get delayed further. I humbly request you not to make such political statements,” she said in the letter.

On February 20, the apex court stayed the state government’s order on the release of the convicts, saying there have been procedural lapses on the part of the state.

Besides Perarivalan, Santhan and Murugan, the husband of Nalini, earned a major reprieve from Supreme Court which spared them from the gallows. The Tamil Nadu government subsequently decided to set free all the seven convicts in the case.