A representation to the Central and the Tamil Nadu Governments to shift the convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, Santhan, a Sri Lankan national, to a prison in his country, has been prepared.

The representation has been sent to Santhan, through the jail authorities, for his consent. T. Suthendraraja alias Santhan, is currently lodged in the Central jail, Vellore.

‘Santhan’s advocates have given us a representation requesting us to forward it to him so that he could sign it. We have forwarded it to the prisoner,” a jail official said requesting anonymity.

“Only if the prisoner signs the petition, appropriate action will be considered in accordance with law,” he added.

The petition urges the State and Central authorities to shift Santhan to a prison in Sri Lanka. The request is based on bilateral prisoner exchange pacts between New Delhi and Colombo.

However, it needed to be seen by top officials if such a request fits within the scope of bilateral agreements between the two nations as Santhan is a life convict, official sources said.

The Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission declined to comment on it.

On February 18, 2014, the Supreme Court commuted Santhan’s death sentence alongside that of Murugan and Perarivalan, who were also convicted in the case.

A day after the ruling, the Tamil Nadu Government had proposed to remit the sentences of life imprisonment on seven prisoners. It included the three whose sentences were commuted by the apex court.

However, the Centre approached the top court against the State’s move and the apex court posted the matter to a five-member bench.

In March this year, the Tamil Nadu Government for the second time sent its proposal to the Centre to release the seven convicts that also included Nalini, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Jayakumar that was turned down.