Kottayam (Kerala), Nov 17 (IANS): Congress President Sonia Gandhi should pardon those sentenced to death or life imprisonment in the assassination of her husband Rajiv Gandhi, says former Supreme Court judge K.T. Thomas who delivered the capital punishment.

Thomas told IANS on Thursday that he had indeed made the appeal to Sonia Gandhi so that those involved in her husband's assassination and now in jail can be pardoned.

Thomas, 80, said he wrote to Sonia Gandhi last week.

"I happened to read an article about the emotions and feelings of Perarivalan, one of the accused... It filled my eyes and then I felt that he and others have been in jail for over a quarter century.

"Even though it was I who delivered the judgement then, I felt that the only person who can come forward to pardon them is none other than Sonia Gandhi and hence I wrote to her," he said.

Thomas, however, said he had no feeling of guilt over the judgement that he delivered.

"The central government will never ever even think of pardoning those in jail as it could lead to a severe backlash. None other than Sonia can take the initiative to see that they are pardoned.

"If she does it, I am certain, the Centre also will come forward and do what it can do," said Thomas, who became a judge of the Supreme Court in 1996 and retired in 2002.

A suicide bomber linked to the now vanquished Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers assassinated Rajiv Gandhi at an election rally near Chennai in May 1991.