Supreme Court ordered the release of A.G. Perarivalan

The Supreme Court has invoked its extraordinary powers to do complete justice under Article 142 of the Constitution and ordered the release of A.G. Perarivalan in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

What necessitated this?

• The court ordered Perarivalan’s freedom after considering his extended detention of almost 30 years.
• The court used its constitutional rights because of the extended wait and the Governor’s unwillingness to take a decision on the pardon petition.

What is Article 142?

From the Union Carbide case  in 1989 to the Ayodhya Ram Mandir judgment in 2019, the top court has many a time invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.

• Article 142 “provide(s) a unique power to the Supreme Court, to do “complete justice” between the parties,, where at times law or statute may not provide a remedy, the Court can extend itself to put a quietus to a dispute in a manner which would befit the facts of the case.