New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court has slammed the Delhi government once again for granting parole to Manu Sharma, sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering model Jessica Lall in 1999.
The court observed that only those with connections to the rich and powerful seem to get parole, while the poor and needy are denied it. The chief justice asked the government to explain whether it had verified the grounds for Sharma's parole.
Sharma was found at a Delhi nightclub earlier this month while on parole. This led to a gigantic controversy, which revealed that the Delhi police had said he did not merit a two-month break from prison. However, the government ignored the police's advice and recommended Sharma for parole.
Sharma had said he needed bail because his business and ageing mother needed his attention. On the same weekend that he was found at a club, his mother conducted a press conference in Chandigarh, suggesting that she is in good health.
Sharma's father, Vinod, is a powerful politician in Haryana and is a trusted aide of the state's chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
After Sharma's parole hit the headlines, he voluntarily returned to Tihar Jail, two weeks before he was due there.
The episode deeply embarrassed the Delhi government, in particular, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who had originally claimed that no special favours were done for Sharma.