The Centre today moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on Tamil Nadu government's decision to release all seven convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. On the petition of the centre, the Apex court agreed to give an urgent hearing and decided to take up the case later in the day.

Appearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran pleaded for a stay saying the state government should not be allowed to release the prisoners till its review petition challenging commutation of death sentence of three condemned prisoners to life imprisonment on ground of delay in deciding mercy petitions.

The Jayalalithaa government had yesterday decided to set free all seven convicts in the assassination case after the apex court had commuted the death penalty of three of them to life imprisonment.