Different Presidents, Different Decisions: The tale of Mercy Petitions in India
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 30, 2015
The rejection of Yakub Memon’s mercy plea by the President has once again brought the issue of mercy petitions to the limelight. While some presidents were kinder, others were not. However, there is no consistency in the decisions taken by different Presidents. While Smt. Prathiba Patil rejected only 14% of the petitions disposed by her, Shri Pranab Mukherjee on the other hand rejected 92% of the petitions disposed by him. A total of 4802 mercy petitions were disposed by the President of India since independence.