Jessica murder: Court rejects Gill's parole plea

NEW DELHI: A plea by one of the convicts for a three-month parole in the Jessica Lall murder case was dismissed by a Delhi high court on Tuesday.
Justice M L Mehta dismissed the plea of convict Amardeep Singh Gill, sentenced to four years in jail, saying a maximum of four days' custodial parole could be given to him for the purpose of arranging an alternative accommodation for his wife and children who have been served with an eviction notice by the landlord in Gurgaon.
"Unless there is emergency situation, I am not inclined to grant him parole. It is not possible to grant parole for such a long period," Justice M L Mehta said rejecting the plea of Gill who is a serving jail term along with prime accused Manu Sharma, son of former minister and Congress leader Venod Sharma.
Manu was awarded life imprisonment for killing Lall as she refused to serve him a drink on April 29, 1999, during a party hosted by socialite Bina Ramani at Tamarind Court Cafe restaurant at Qutub Colonnade in South Delhi.
In his plea Gill sought the parole for searching another house saying that the present landlord of the house, in which his wife and children are staying, has given a notice terminating the tenancy. The convict had moved the court for parole after the Delhi government rejected his plea for it last October following a report from Delhi Police that he could jump the parole as his family did not have a permanent address.
Gill's petition referred to his "good" conduct during the 13-year trial and in jail. It also attached reports from the DCP (Gurgaon), verifying the address and family details of Gill and a favourable opinion on his conduct in jail.
Gill, former MNC executive, and Vikas Yadav, son of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, were held guilty for the offence of destruction of evidence and were awarded four years jail term.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had upheld the conviction of Manu Sharma along with those of Yadav and Gill in the case.