18 November 1999 :

On November 18, Mrs Sonia Gandhi pleaded for commutation of the death sentence of Nalini. Mrs Gandhi, at a private meeting with the President, conveyed to him her feelings that Nalini's life be spared as she is the mother of a small child. "No child should be orphaned or made to suffer by an act of the state," the Congress president said. Nalini and Murugan have pleaded for mercy, also saying their 7-year-old daughter would be orphaned if both of them were hanged.