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Sunday, Oct 15, 2006
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Clemency: Sorabjee blames State Cabinet

Special Correspondent

`The office of the Governor doesn't come into the picture at all'

HYDERABAD: Constitutional expert and former Attorney-General of India Soli J. Sorabjee on Saturday faulted the State Government for passing a "wrong" order that led to the Supreme Court quashing the clemency granted by the Governor to Gouru Venkata Reddy.

Mr. Sorabjee, who was in the city to deliver the 21st Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Lecture, told reporters that the State Cabinet would have to own up responsibility for the episode and the "office of Governor doesn't come into the picture at all." The Governor would act on the advice given by the Council of Ministers and it was for the Cabinet to decide whether the advice was based on "relevant" or "irrelevant" issues.

He said the recommendation that Mr. Venkat Reddy be granted clemency as he was a "good Congress worker and had a good political future" was not appropriate. If that was the case, there were bound to be such requests from all other political parties too. The grant of clemency in itself needed judicial review as it needed to be exercised with adequate responsibility. Asked about the opposition in some quarter to the capital punishment awarded to Afzal Guru, the prime accused in the Parliament attack case, he said the matter was still being debated.

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