New Delhi, April 22 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted the last opportunity to the Centre and asked it to file an affidavit within two weeks on the plea of death-row prisoner Balwant Singh Rajoana, held guilty for the assassination of the then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995.

Rajoana, in his plea, sought commutation of his death sentence on the grounds of delay in considering the mercy petition pending before the President of India since 2012.

Rajoana has been in jail for more than 29 years, of which he has been on death row for over 17 years.

During the hearing, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi asked the counsel appearing for the Centre as to why the government has not filed its affidav...