(1) If the convict submits a petition within the above period, it shall be addressed to the Governor of the State and the President of India and the execution of sentence shall in all cases be postponed pending receipt of their orders.
(2) The petition shall in the first instance be sent to the State Government for consideration and orders of the Governor and if after consideration it is rejected it shall be forwarded to the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs.
(3) If it is decided to commute the sentence of death, the petition addressed to the President of India shall be withheld and an intimation of the fact shall be sent to the petitioner.
Note: The Petition made in case where the sentence of death is for an offence against any law exclusively relatable to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends, shall not be considered by the State Government but shall forthwith be forwarded to the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs.
(4) If the convict submits the petition after the period prescribed above, it will be within the discretion of the State Government to consider the petition and to postpone execution pending such consideration and also to withhold or not to withhold the petition addressed to the President.
(5) In the following circumstances, however, the petition shall be forwarded to the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry the Home Affairs, namely:- 677 राजस्ााू राज-पत्र दिसम् बर 12 2022 भाग 4 (ग)
(a) if the sentence of death was passed by an appellate court on an appeal against the acquittal or as a result of an enhancement of sentence by the appellate court, whether on its own motion or on an application for enhancement of sentence; or
(b) when there are any circumstances about the case, which, in the opinion of the State Government, render it desirable that the President should have an opportunity of considering it, as in cases of a political character and those in which for any special reason considerable public interest has been aroused.
(c) when the petition is forwarded to the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, the execution shall simultaneously be postponed pending receipt of orders of the President thereon.
(6) In all cases in which a petition for mercy from a convict under sentence of death is to be forwarded to the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, or the State Government, the petition shall be forwarded as expeditiously as possible along with the records of the case and his or its observations in respect of any of the grounds urged in the petition. In the case of other States, the Government of the State concerned shall, if it had previously rejected any petition addressed to it or the Governor, also forward a brief statement of the reasons for the rejection of the previous petition or petitions.
(7) Upon the receipt of the orders of the President, an acknowledgment shall be sent to the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, immediately in the manner hereinafter provided. In the case of, if the petition is rejected, the orders shall be communicated by express letter and receipt thereof shall be acknowledged by express letter. Orders commuting the death sentence shall be communicated by express letter receipt thereof shall be acknowledged by express letter.
(8) A petition submitted by a convict shall be withheld by the Government of the State, if a petition containing a similar prayer has already been