Jessica murder convict Manu Sharma walks free

New Delhi, June 2

Manu Sharma, serving a life term in the 1999 Jessica Lal murder case, was released from Tihar Jail on Monday after Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal approved his premature release, DG (Prisons) Sandeep Geol said on Tuesday.

Baijal approved the release of Sharma, son of former Union minister Venod Sharma, on a recommendation by the Delhi Sentence Review Board (DSRB), which is under the Delhi Government, according to officials.

On May 28, the Delhi Home Department had issued an order for premature release of 19 convicts, including Sharma’s, they said.

“Sharma walked out of jail on Monday. He spent 17 years behind bars. His actual period with remission is 23 years and four months,” Goel said.

“Manu Sharma was on parole since the first week of April. He was released from Tihar Jail on Monday,” his lawyer Amit Sahni said.

According to the DSRB, Manu Sharma had availed parole 12 times and furlough 24 times.

Sahni said Sharma’’s conduct has been good throughout the jail period, and claimed he was eligible for premature release.

Meanwhile, women rights activists called the decision “unfortunate”, saying it had set a wrong precedent. — PTI

Box

1999 shooting of model

* Manu Sharma was convicted in 2006 for shooting Jessica Lal after she refused to serve him liquor at Delhi’s Tamarind Court restaurant on the night of April 30, 1999

* A trial court acquitted him, but the HC, which took up the case amid outrage, reversed decision and sentenced him to life term. The SC in 2010 upheld the life sentence