To The Governor Government of Rajasthan Raj Bhavan Jaipur (Rajasthan) India We request the Honorable Governor Shri ShivrajPatil to invoke his powers under Article 161 of the Constitution of India and see that Dr Chishty returns to his home in Pakistan alive and as soon as possible”. I am making this appeal to you not as a Supreme Court Judge but as a human being, requesting for release of Dr. Khalil Chishty, a Pakistani national, who is old and infirm and in Ajmer jail, on humanitarian grounds under Article 72 of the Constitution. Dr. Chishty was an eminent Professor of Virology in Karachi Medical College, and holds a Ph. D. from Edinburgh University. In 1992 he visited Ajmer to meet his ailing mother. There was a dispute between his family in Ajmer and their collaterals, and in the violence one person was killed. Among others, Dr. Chishty was also implicated. The criminal case kept pending for 18 years, during which period Dr. Chishty was granted bail but with stringent conditions that he will not leave Almer and abide by some other conditions. In 2010 the case was decided, and the accused, including Dr. Chishty were convicted under Article 302 and given life sentence. He filed an appeal before the Rajasthan High Court, where it is still pending, but the bail application has been rejected..One does not know when the appeal willbe heard, and in the meantime Dr. Chishty may die in jail since he is so old that he has to be physically carried. He is also a heart patient and has a hip fracture. It will be a disgrace for our country if he dies in jail. I am not commenting anything on the merits of the case as it is a judicial proceeding. However, apart from the judicial proceeding there is the executive power in the President and the Governor to grant a pardon. Mahesh Bhatt and others have appealed to the President of India under Article 72 of the Constitution, as well as to the Governor of Rajasthan under Article 161 to grant a pardon, so that he may spend the last days of his life in his home in Karachi. I join them in this appeal. The relevant papers are with the Home Minister Mr. Chidambaram. It has been held by the Supreme Court in Nanavati vs. State of Bombay A.I.R.1961 S.C. that pardon can be granted even when a case is pending Please therefore do the needful in this connection. Time is of the essence of the matter since Dr. Chishty has not many years to live. If you need any further details please give an audience to Mahesh Bhat (whose email address has been copied) and others who signed the petition for pardon Needless to mention, if a pardon is granted it will enhance the prestige of India. As Shakespeare said in Merchant of Venice: "The quality of mercy is not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven unto the earth beneath" In similar circumstances pardon was granted to Gopal Das by the Pakistan President. “He (Dr Chishty) is presently suffering from multiple ailments, including a cardiac ailment, since he suffered a major stroke in 2008 and then in 2010, when he was on the operation table undergoing a hip operation to join his hip bones which had fractured... His condition is obvious from the fact that after the conviction he was carried by two people to the court and also brought into the Ajmer jail with similar support. His hip joint is completely immobile and therefore he cannot walk on his own. He can barely use a walker,” states the PUCL memo. “...Dr. Chishty is a fit case for granting of pardon and or remission of sentence. He is a person of impeccable character. We urge you to note his advanced age and his illness and... to use your good offices and request the Chief Minister of Rajasthan and his cabinet of Ministers to advise the Governor of Rajasthan to invoke his powers under Article 161 of the Constitution of India and see that Dr. Chishty returns to his home in Pakistan alive and as soon as possible.”