The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, on a plea by convict AG Perarivalan against his conviction by the top court in 1999, ANI reported. Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Banumathi have asked the investigation agency for their reply to the plea, IANS reported.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to decide on the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to cancel the jail sentences of seven people convicted in the former prime minister’s assassination, including Perarivalan. The court gave the Central government three months’ time to convey its stand on the matter.

In April 2016, the Centre had declined the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to release the seven prisoners. In November 2017, the top court had asked the Narendra Modi government if it wanted to set the convicts free.

Perarivalan, and two other convicts – Murugan and Santhan – are serving life imprisonment sentences n the case. The Supreme Court had commuted his death penalty to life in jail in 2014.