It was my misfortune to have presided over that Bench – Justice KT Thomas on confirming the death penalty in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case

Justice KT Thomas, the presiding judge of the Supreme Court bench that confirmed the death sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, admitted that the decision had been “constitutionally incorrect”. The judge also took note of the fact that the judgment had not taken into consideration several important factors, such as the nature and character of the accused..Justice KT Thomas, the presiding judge of the Supreme Court bench that confirmed the death sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, admitted that the decision had been “constitutionally incorrect”. The judge also took note of the fact that the judgment had not taken into consideration several important factors, such as the nature and character of the accused..As per this news report, Justice Thomas said that the bench had failed to take into account the “nature and character” of the accused while confirming the death sentence, something which had been explicitly pointed out by the Supreme Court in subsequent judgments. As for the “constitutionally incorrect” reference, the Judge said that the convicts had already been punished for the assassination by suffering imprisonment for 22 years..“For any life imprisonment, every prisoner is entitled to have a right to get his case reviewed by the jail authorities (to determine) whether remission can be announced or not. Since the accused in Rajiv Gandhi case were death convicts, they underwent a long period of imprisonment without even having the benefit of life imprisonment,” he said. “This appears to be a third type of sentence, something which is unheard and constitutionally incorrect. If they are hanged today or tomorrow, they will be subjected to two penalties for one offense.”.In this interview with Bar & Bench in 2011, Justice Thomas had said that awarding the death sentence was “judicial murder”.