That mercy petition is pending since 2006. It continues to be under examination of the Home Ministry which is still awaiting the comments of the Delhi Government in this regard.

While Afzal Guru is the most publicised case on the list, there are other high-profile convicts as well. Eighth on the list is the mercy petition of Murugan, Shanthan and Perarivalan who have been convicted for their role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The death sentence of Murugan’s wife, Nalini, was commuted to life-term by former president K R Narayanan.

India last carried out a death sentence in 2004 when Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged to death for the rape and murder of 14-year-old Hetal Parekh in 1990. His mercy petition was rejected by former president A P J Abdul Kalam. Incidentally, this was the only mercy petition that was decided, either way, by Kalam. His predecessor K R Narayanan did not decide on even a single mercy petition.