Manu’s release: Sentence Review Board meet put off

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 24 

The fate of Manu Sharma, convicted of the murder of Jessica Lall, will be decided by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and not Jessica’s Sabrina Lall, said the jail authorities. 

Sabrina had, last month, written to the Tihar Jail authorities, saying she had no objection to Manu’s release.

The L-G will decide Sharma’s fate once the jail’s Sentence Review Board (SRB) submitted a report, they said 

A meeting of the SRB, scheduled for Tuesday to decide on the release of some prisoners, including Manu, has been postponed.

An eight-member team of the SRB headed by Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain will examine cases of prisoners, following which a report will be sent to the L-G for taking a decision. 

The jail authorities said Manu, who is serving life imprisonment, has sought a premature release. Delhi Government rules permit a murder convict undergoing life sentence to approach a review board to seek an early release. A prisoner can only apply for an early release after he has served a term of at least 14 years without remission or more, depending on the case.

An official, who is a member of the SRB, said the meeting had to be postponed as Jain did not give his consent.

A Delhi Government spokesperson claimed no meeting was scheduled for Tuesday as the minister had not given his consent.

The SRB is a statutory body which has a judge, Delhi Home Minister, Law Secretary and Home Secretary among members.

Tihar Jail authorities said the letter of a private individual had no legal sanctity. 

Manu Sharma, the son of former Union Minister Venod Sharma, was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2006 for killing Jessica Lall in 1999. 

The trial court had acquitted him, but the Delhi High Court reversed the verdict and the Supreme Court upheld the life sentence in April 2010.