G.S.SINGHVI,J. - (1.) ALTHOUGH, the parties have made diametrically opposite assertions about the atmosphere which prevailed in the State after rejection by the President of India of the mercy petitions filed by V. Sriharan @ Murugan and two others, we do not consider it necessary to decide whether the support extended by the political outfits and others to those who were found guilty of killing the former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi may impede fair adjudication of the writ petitions filed by them warrants transfer of the three writ petitions from the Madras High Court to this Court. However, keeping in view the fact that an identical question is pending consideration before this Court in Writ Petition (Criminal) D. No. 16039 of 2011 titled Devender Pal Singh Bhullar v. State of NCT of Delhi, we deem it proper to exercise power under Article 139A(1) of the Constitution.
(2.) L. K. Venkat and Javid Iqbal and others have filed these petitions for transfer of Writ Petition No. 20287 of 2011 titled V. Sriharan @ Murugan v. Union of India and others, Writ Petition No. 20288 of 2011 titled T. Suthendraraja @ Santhan v. Union of India and others and Writ Petition No. 20289 of 2011 titled A.G. Perarivalan @ Arivu v. Union of India and others which are pending before the Madras High Court to this Court. The writ petitioners and some others were convicted by the Special Judge for offences under Section 302 read with Section 120B IPC and Sections 3, 4 and 15 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (for short, 'TADA') and were sentenced to death. The appeals filed by them were dismissed by this Court vide judgment reported as State v. Nalini (1999) 5 SCC 253. The mercy petitions filed by the writ petitioners were rejected by the President of India on 11.8.2011. Thereafter, they filed three writ petitions, of which particulars have been mentioned hereinabove, for quashing the rejection of the petitions filed by them under Article 72 of the Constitution on the ground of violation of the principles laid down in various judgments of this Court including T.V. Vatheeswaran v. State of Tamil Nadu (1983) 2 SCC 68, Sher Singh v. State of Punjab (1983) 2 SCC 344, K.P. Mohammed v. State of Kerala 1984 (Supp.) SCC 684, Javed Ahmed Abdul Hamid Pawala v. State of Maharashtra (1985) 1 SCC 275, Triveniben v. State of Gujarat, (1989) 1 SCC 678, Madhu Mehta v. Union of India (1989) 4 SCC 62, Daya Singh v. Union of India (1991) 3 SCC 61, Shivaji Jaising Babar v. State of Maharashtra (1991) 4 SCC 375 and Jagdish v. State of Madhya Pradesh (2009) 9 SCC 495.
(3.) THE petitioners have sought transfer of the writ petitions by asserting that hearing thereof in the Madras High Court may not be possible in congenial atmosphere because of the agitation launched by different political outfits, extremist groups and lawyers and also because thousands of people gathered in the High Court premises and raised slogans outside and inside the Court premises. The petitioners in the second case have also pleaded that the main question raised in the writ petitions pending before the High Court is identical to the question raised in the cases of Devender Pal Singh Bhullar and Mahendra Nath Das, which are pending before this Court. The Government of Tamil Nadu and some of the private respondents have controverted the petitioners' assertion that the atmosphere in the State is highly surcharged and fair hearing of the writ petitions filed by the convicts is not possible in the Madras High Court. They have pleaded that there is no impediment in the hearing of the writ petitions by the Madras High Court and the same should not be transferred merely because similar issue is pending before this Court. They have also questioned the locus standi of the petitioners to seek transfer of the writ petitions from the Madras High Court by alleging that they are merely busy-body and are interested in publicity.;