New Delhi, March 9 (TIWN) The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to A.G. Perarivalan convicted for the assissination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, noting that he has already spent more than 30 years behind the bar.

Perarivalan had been arrested in the case in 1991 at the age of 19. He was accused of purchasing the battery that was used to trigger the belt bomb used to kill Rajiv and 43 others.  In 1999, he was sentenced to death for his role in the case. In 2014, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. In 2018, the previous AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu had recommended premature release for Perarivalan and six others in the Rajiv Gandhi case.  On Wednesday, the bench of justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai granted bail to him. The bench had noted the case concerned the power of the Tamil Nadu governor to sit on the fence over the release of a convict, whose release had been recommended by the state governor.  The bench noted Perarivalan had “spent over 30 years in prison” and said he was “entitled” to be released on bail, in spite of the vehement opposition by the Centre, Live Law reported.