A decision on the release of murder convicts Sushil Sharma and Manu Sharma has been “deferred” by a high-powered committee chaired by Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain, which met on Thursday. While Sushil Sharma, a former youth Congress president, has been in jail for around 23 years for murdering his wife Naina Sahni, which later came to be known as the ‘tandoor murder case’, Manu Sharma, son of former Haryana minister Vinod Sharma, had shot dead model Jessica Lall at a restaurant in 1999. It is learnt that the committee has cleared the plea of 25 prisoners, out of around 150 who had applied. Among those rejected, “due to lack of unanimity among the members”, were several critically ill prisoners. Sources said there was a view in the meeting, that since Tihar authorities have said that Manu Sharma’s and Sushil Sharma’s “conduct has been good,” and they are already serving their sentences from an open and semi-open jail respectively, they should be allowed to walk free. Prisoners living in open jails are allowed to go out and work during the day, while those in semi-open jails can work and walk around the jail. They are kept in rooms. Apart from the home minister, Director General (Prisons), Principal Secretary (Home), Principal Secretary (Law), Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), the government’s chief probation officer and a district judge are part of the committee. The decision effectively rules out their release at least for the next six months, as per the prevailing regulations governing premature release of prisoners. The development comes against the backdrop of Jesicca’s sister Sabrina Lall writing to Tihar Jail authorities stating that she has no objections to Manu Sharma’s release. Tihar authorities declined to comment on the decision, saying they were yet to receive the minutes of the meeting. A meeting of the Sentence Review Board (SRB), which was scheduled to take place in April, was postponed after the letter surfaced. The previous meeting was held in December last year. However, going by the rules, views of individuals related to the victim or the convict are not taken into consideration by the panel. Sources also pointed towards another possible flashpoint in the wake of the decision, especially in light of the July 4 Supreme Court judgement, that was largely seen as a shot in the arm for the elected government. According to prevailing norms, the decisions of the SRB have to be approved by the Lt Governor. “The recommendation of the Sentence Review Board shall be placed before the competent authority without delay for consideration. The competent authority may either accept the recommendations of the Sentence Review Board or reject the same on grounds to be stated or may ask the Sentence Review Board to reconsider a particular case,” the rules state. Officials said that prison being a state subject, the elected government may clip the L-G’s role in this regard and route the files through the elected government.
