Delhi L-G allows Manu Sharma's release in Jessica Lal case
The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Anil Baijal, has approved the pre-mature release of Manu Sharma, convicted in the high profile 1999 Jessica Lal murder case. Sharma had been serving a life sentence at the Tihar Jail. Earlier, the Delhi government's Sentence Review Board (SRB) had recommended the premature release of Sharma based on his good conduct among other reasons. Here are more details.
What is the Jessica Lal murder case?
On April 29, 1999, Sharma shot dead Jessica Lal, a 34-year-old model, for refusing to serve him drinks at the Tamarind Court restaurant in Delhi. When Jessica was rushed to the Apollo Hospital, however, she was declared brought dead. Sharma, the son of former Union Minister Venod Sharma, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court in December 2006.
Why was Sharma allowed an early release?
According to The Print, the SRB had recommended Sharma's early release last month citing his enterprising business ideas, his trust's monetary efforts to educate children of prisoners, and good conduct. A prison source told the publication that over 16 years in the Tihar Jail, Sharma had never been "punished for any violation." Sharma has now been released after 14 years of imprisonment, ANI reported.
Sharma's early release was previously rejected
According to The Print, Sharma's early release had been reviewed multiple times since 2017. SRB members had earlier rejected the plea saying Sharma had committed a "heinous crime" that cannot be overlooked. He had also reportedly violated parole rules in November 2019. Notably, in 2018, Lal's sister, Sabrina Lal, had written to Tihar Jail authorities stating that she has no objections to Sharma's release.
