Sushil Sharma is in jail since 1995. (File)
Highlights
- The Delhi High Court has ordered the release of Sushil Sharma
- He had murdered his wife Naina Sahni in 1995
- He is in jail for the last 23 years
The Delhi High Court has ordered the release of Sushil Sharma, a former politician, who is serving life sentence since 1995 for murdering his wife Naina Sahni. The high profile murder case had become infamous as the "Tandoor Kand".
Sushil Sharma, a youth Congress leader, had shot dead his wife Naina Sahni over suspicion of her having an extramarital affair. The crime took place at their home in Delhi on July 2, 1995.
Sharma then chopped off her body into pieces and stuffed it in a'tandoor'or clay oven on the roof of a popular restaurant, which was managed by his friend.
The police that were patrolling the area reached the spot after seeing smoke coming out of the tandoor. They found Naina Sahni's dismembered and half-burnt body. Sushil Sharma had gone missing but was arrested within a week.
Naina Sahni's body was chopped into pieces and stuffed into a tandoor.
A trial court and then the High Court ruled that Sushil Sharma should hang, but the Supreme Court commuted the sentence, observing, "It is not a crime against society but a crime committed due to (Sharma's) strained relationship with his wife."
It is one of the landmark cases in India in which DNA evidence and a second autopsy were used to establish the guilt of the accused.
Sharma, who is in jail for the past 23 years, had moved the Delhi High Court seeking release. He had said in his plea that his conduct in prison and while out on parole has been "exemplary" and he has never misused his liberty.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked whether a person could be allowed to be kept in jail indefinitely for the offence of murder even if he has already served the sentence.
With inputs from PTI