The Madras High Court today adjourned to the 29th of next month, the hearing on the petitions by death row convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case seeking commutation of capital punishment.

On August 30, the court had stayed for eight weeks the execution of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan admitting their pleas for commuting their death sentence to life term.

The stay came as a major relief for the three convicts as their execution was then fixed for September 9 after President Pratibha Patil turned down their mercy pleas.

The Supreme Court had on September 15 issued notices to the Centre, the Tamil Nadu government and the three convicts on a plea for transferring the case out of Madras High Court.

The three, lodged in Vellore jail, were convicted and sentenced to death in the case relating to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi during an election rally at Sriperumpudur on May 21, 1991 by an LTTE suicide bomber.