Rajiv Gandhi assassination: Tamil Nadu govt opposes Nalini’s six-month parole plea

The state’s affidavit opposing Nalini’s parole in Madras High Court cited the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982, and said neither the petitioner’s daughter is living in India, nor has the petitioner given any valid proof of her daughter’s visit to India to verify the genuineness of her request through the probation officer in Chennai.

It also noted that she was charged under a case considered as the “rarest of rare” and that Nalini was already granted a reprieve from death sentence to life “purely on humanitarian ground”.

“If all the prisoners, irrespective of the gravity of the offences for which they are convicted are classified and considered similarly, it will have serious repercussions on the safety and security of society besides shaking the foundation of the entire criminal justice system,” the state government said.

Interestingly, the current AIADMK government’s stand against Nalini’s parole is contrary to the stand of late AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa, who decided to release them permanently in 2014. This was opposed by the Centre and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.

Nalini’s counsels have said the government’s stand is against natural justice and pointed out that another another convict in the same case, A G Perarivalan, was recently granted parole on the grounds of his father’s ill-health.

Nalini was granted parole for 24 hours in March 2016 to visit her Chennai home following her father’s death.