Does the President actually have the power to pardon and is the decision final?

Under Article 72, the President of India has the power to pardon a convict. Article 72 says that the President shall have the powers to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment. This, however, comes with certain conditions.

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President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy petition filed by Mukesh Singh, one of the killers in the Nirbhaya case. He had sent a mercy petition to the President after the Supreme Court had rejected his curative plea. Let us take a look at the powers of the President in death sentence cases and whether the rejection of a mercy plea is a finality in this process.