Editor's Pick: A denouement in the Perarivalan case?

The Hindu Newsletter - Newsletter - subject [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Sunday 22, November 2020 [alt_text]( Editor's Pick [A denouement in the Perarivalan case?]( [alt_text]( (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) The CBI has told the Supreme Court that the ongoing investigation into the larger conspiracy behind Rajiv Gandhi assassination had nothing to do with A.G. Perarivalan, a convict in the assassination case. It also said that [Perarivalan's release was entirely up to Tamil Nadu Governor]( Banwarilal Purohit. Perarivalan was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1991 for supplying two nine-volt batteries used in the bomb that killed the former Prime Minister. He is one of the seven convicts in the case currently in jail in Tamil Nadu. In 2015, he had submitted a plea for pardon to the Tamil Nadu Governor. In 2018, the Supreme Court had asked the Governor to take a call on the pardon, following which the Tamil Nadu Cabinet also recommended his release. In a hearing in the Madras High Court in July this year, the court was told that the Governor will take a decision after the Multidisciplinary Monitoring Agency that is probing the international conspiracy behind the assassination submits its report. The MDMA, led by the CBI, was set up in 1998 based on the Jain commission report that looked into the assassination and identified suspects to be looked into. The Supreme Court had last month said that the ongoing MDMA probe need not be a deterrent to the Governor taking a decision on the pardon plea. Now the lead investigation agency itself has said that Perarivalan's pardon will not impede the probe. This makes the case for an early decision by the Governor stronger. The release of the convicts in the assassination case has political ramifications in Tamil Nadu, with major political parties pushing for it. Many political parties in Tamil Nadu had rallied behind the LTTE when it was the purported face of the Tamil minority fighting Sinhala majoritarianism in Sri Lanka. The current AIADMK government has in fact recommended the release of all the convicts to the Governor. [The Centre, which has taken a harder stance]( on the other convicts, has now removed most of the technicalities around the release of Perarivalan, who was 19 when he was arrested. The next major development on this issue could be the Governor's decision on it. This is what makes the story important. The Big Story [Parliamentary panel bats for laws to counter bio-terrorism]( [alt_text]( From the Front Page [alt_text]( [Farm laws | Punjab farmers to lift rail blockade from November 23]( [alt_text]( [Perarivalan release | Tamil Nadu Governor can decide, says CBI]( Profiles [alt_text]( [Maryam Nawaz — the daughter who is shaking up Pakistan]( [alt_text]( [Ilham Aliyev — the President who went to war]( Literary Review [Alt-right, centre stage: Review]( Venky Vembu [‘The Case for Degrowth’ review:]( Sudhirendar Sharma You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0b48z4dpbf2f90kaup33rtbysa8hkvt@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. If you can't see the mailer, please [click here.]( Group Sites [The Hindu]( | [இந்து தமிழ் திசை]( | [Business Line]( | [BL on Campus]( | [Sportstar]( | [Frontline]( | [The Hindu Centre]( | [Images]( | [roofandfloor]( | [Classifieds]( Copyright @ 2020 ,THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. [About Us]( | [Contact Us]( | [Digital Subscription](