Mr President, are you listening?

By John Cheeran
Mr President are you listening?
The Supreme Court ruled on last Wednesday that pardon must be granted in clemency pleas (such as the one raised for the terrorist Mohammad Afzal who has been sentenced for death) only after taking into consideration its potential impact on society.
The court also said that powers of clemency by the president or the governor of a state cannot be exercised for political considerations or on the basis of religion, caste or other extraneous factors.
All these factors are very much at play, in a big way, and that has brought forward this political teaser called clemency plea.
It was a bench consisting of judges Arijit Pasayat and S.H. Kapadia who made it clear that the powers of reprieve, pardon or remission of sentence cannot be done on irrelevant materials. The exercise of the powers must be for bona fide and valid reasons.
According to the court, while exercising the power, the president or the governor should keep in mind not only the welfare of the convict but also the welfare of the public at large and the impact of release of the convict on society.
It is very interesting to note that the court has observed the exercise of the power of clemency by the president or the governor would be subject to judicial review since such a power cannot be exercised for extraneous, political or for mala fide reasons.
Tread carefully, Mr President.