The post is of the President, the feelings are of a father… What decision did Shankar Dayal Sharma take on the mercy petition of the murderers of his/her daughter and son-in-law?

New Delhi: Justice is supreme! These words are so easy to say and hear, but in real life its definition is quite different. The bigger the position, the greater the power, but this power becomes the biggest weakness when the decision has to be taken by ignoring one’s emotions. We are mentioning these things because there is one such old story, which tells the power of the pen and the emotions of a father. You will be surprised to know that there has been a President of India, who had received the mercy petition of the murderers of his/her own daughter and son-in-law.

Son-in-law’s name cropped up in anti-Sikh riots

Actually, this incident starts with the assassination of Indira Gandhi. The year was 1984. The then Prime Minister of the country Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her body guards a few months after Operation Blue Star. After the assassination of the then Prime Minister, anti-Sikh riots broke out across the country. Many Congress leaders were accused of instigating these riots. One of these names was Shankar Dayal Sharma’s son-in-law Lalit Maken.

Terrorists killed daughter and son-in-law

According to media reports, on July 31, 1985, three terrorists Harjinder Singh Jinda, Sukhdev Singh Sukha and Ranjit Singh Gill Kuki shot and killed Lalit Maken and his/her wife Geetanjali. At the time when this incident took place, Shankar Dayal Sharma was the Governor of Andhra Pradesh. Later, Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha were arrested by the police.

The decision had to be taken on the mercy petition of those terrorists

On 25 July 1992, seven years after the murder of his/her daughter and son-in-law, Shankar Dayal Sharma became the ninth President of India and remained in office till 25 July 1997. As soon as he/she became the President, a mercy petition came to him/her. The irony was that this petition was to save the murderers of his/her daughter and son-in-law from hanging. It is unfortunate that the first citizen of the country had to take a decision on this.

A very emotional moment for the President

It was an emotional moment as a father and a big responsibility as a President. Finally the decision was taken. This decision was also much talked about in the media. President Shankar Dayal Sharma rejected the mercy petition of Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha. After this, on October 9, 1992, Lalit Maken and Geetanjali’s killers were hanged in Pune’s Yerwada Jail.

Shankar Dayal Sharma had turned down the offer to become Prime Minister

It is said that Shankar Dayal Sharma was offered to become the Prime Minister before the President. Actually, on May 21, 1991, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. After this, the name of the then Vice President Shankar Dayal Sharma was suggested for the post of Prime Minister, but later he/she rejected this offer. After this, PV Narasimha Rao became the new Prime Minister of the country.

Shankar Dayal Sharma was also a minister at the center

Shankar Dayal Sharma, famous for his/her simplicity, was born on August 19, 1918 in Bhopal. he/she was a law professor at Bhopal University before joining politics. he/she was elected to the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly thrice and was the Chief Minister of the state from 1956 to 1957. he/she was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971 and served as Communications Minister from 1974 to 1977.

he/she also held the post of Minister of Human Resource Development and Minister of Education in the Central Government. In 1984, Shankar Dayal Sharma was elected the eighth Vice President of India and held this post for two terms until he/she was elected President of India in 1992. Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma died on December 26, 1999.