On Friday, Delhi High Court has sought the reply of the Delhi Government in the petition of Jessica Lall-murder convict Manu Sharma who was refused premature release by the Sentence Review Board despite a favourable report of fulfilling all 16 parameters that are considered for an application of premature release by a life convict.
A bench of Justices Manmohan and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal asked the Delhi government to file its reply on the petition in which Sharma has challenged the July 19 decision of Sentence Review Board (SRB) rejecting his case for release even after undergoing almost 23 years in Jail with remission and 17 years without remission.
Sr. Adv Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Sharma, sought his release on grounds of the high court’s judgement in which ‘Tandoor-murder’ convict Sushil Sharma was granted premature release.
The petition submitted, “as per directions of this Hon’ble Court, the Board was to consider the case of the Petitioner in light of the law laid down in Sushil Sharma’s case and not to compare facts, circumstances and custody with Sushil Sharma, which has been deliberately done by the Respondent in order to subvert justice.”
“The petitioner qualifies all the requisite parameters as stipulated in minutes of meetings of SRB. Further incarceration of the petitioner after completion of maximum prescribed period, that is, 20 years (including remission), in absence of cogent and compelling reasons, is unlawful and without legal justification,” said the plea, filed through Advocate Amit Sahni.
The petition also states that no adverse report exists against the convict in jail, who has been shifted from semi-open jail to open jail lately.
Manu Sharma was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court in December, 2006 for killing Jessica Lall in 1999. Supreme Court had upheld his life sentence in April, 2010.
Lall was shot dead by Manu Sharma over refusal to serve him liquor at the Tamarind Court restaurant owned by socialite Ms. Bina Ramani in South Delhi’s Mehrauli area on the night of April 30, 1999.
The court listed the matter of premature release for further hearing on 16th December 2019.
— India Legal Bureau