11 mercy petitions pending before President

New Delhi, Aug 29: As many as 11 mercy petitions of death convicts are pending before President

, an RTI reply has stated.

The figures show only the file of Balwant Singh Rajoana, killer of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, is with the Home Ministry while 11 cases including that of Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru are with Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The reply provided to activist Subhash Agrawal shows that Home Ministry had recalled 26 mercy petition from Rashtrapati Bhavan during 2009-12 to review its advice. It shows after the files were resubmitted, the then President Pratibha Patil had decided on 18 cases.

The remaining eight cases are still with the President's office. The reply shows three mercy petitions, including that of Afzal, have been submitted before the President for decision.

PTI