The Supreme Court is hearing Centre's petition against the Jayalalitha government's decision to release the seven convicts, whose death sentence has been commuted to life by the Court.
Citing the release of Gopal Vinayakram Godse in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case, the Tamil Nadu government today tried to drive home the point for release of former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi's killers in the Supreme Court.
Nathuram Godse's brother, Vinayakam Godse was a conspirator in the Mahatma assassination case and was sentenced to life, but was released in October 1964.
Senior lawyer for the state government, Rakesh Diwedi told the Court, "There is no great leader than the father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Conspirator in the case, Vinayakam Godse, was let off after 16 years. Nobody questioned that, then why not these people."
A five judge constitution bench is hearing Centre's petition against the Jayalalitha government's decision to release the seven convicts, whose death sentence has been commuted to life by the Supreme Court. The seven convicts are Robert Pious, V Sriharan, Santhan, Jaya Kumar, Arivu, Nalini, and Ravichandran.
The lawyer did not defend the action of the convicts, but Mr Diwedi said, "It is sad that these leaders were assassinated. But after long passage of time why you keep these convicts in Jail?"
During the course of hearing, the Court had said till the Centre makes a law that in cases probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, only the Centre has the power to release them. The Court can pass an interim order that the trial court judge who had given death to these convicts can consider their remission - premature release.
But Mr Diwedi opposed to this suggestion, he said that the Court cannot take away the powers of state government for releasing convicts on remission.
Mr Gandhi was killed by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber while on election campaign in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur in May 1991.
Arguments will resume next Tuesday.