Parole hope brightens for Manu

NEW DELHI: Police on Monday softened its opposition to Manu Sharma, killer of model Jessica Lall, being released on conditional parole to attend his brother's wedding.
Though it filed an affidavit opposing the parole, the standing counsel for the police, Pawan Sharma, told the Delhi high court during Monday's hearing that if the court deems it fit, Sharma may be permitted to participate in the wedding, provided he gives an undertaking that he won't leave Karnal and Ambala, where two ceremonies of the function are slated to be held.
After hearing the arguments on behalf of Sharma and Delhi Police, Justice V K Shali reserved his order on Sharma's plea.
In an affidavit submitted to the court last week, the police had objected to the plea, saying his past conduct does not inspire confidence in him as he was found indulging in a brawl in a discotheque in 2009 when out on parole to visit his ailing mother in Chandigarh and attend the last rites of his grandmother. It was later found that his grandmother had actually died in 2008.
Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani appeared for Sharma and argued that HC shouldn't read too much into his past conduct of visiting discotheques. "It is not that only bad people go to the bar. Highly decent people, including some reputed lawyers, go there," he contended, saying, "Even going to a bar when one is on parole is not an offence."
Denying allegations of breach of parole conditions by his client in 2009, Jethmalani said his client "had obtained parole for business purposes earlier and had not committed any breach of parole conditions".
At this, Justice Shali countered him, saying, "You (Manu) were allowed to attend your business and not to attend night clubs. For all these years, you have not reformed and you went to a night club and got into a brawl."
But Jethmalani claimed the media misreported the incident. "It was a misnomer.... These days most business matters are dealt in bars. His client is the owner of a chain of restaurants." The lawyer argued that a 2010 guideline on the grant of parole stipulates that the prisoner's conduct for only past one year is relevant for his temporary release from the jail. "Even if you were bad two years earlier, but maintained a good record in the past one year, one is entitled to parole as per the 2010 government guidelines," he said, highlighting Sharma's achievements in jail where he was rewarded by the authorities for his good conduct in the prison.
Submitting the schedule for the wedding ceremonies, Jethmalani said his client should be allowed to attend the pre-marriage function of "ladies sangeet" on November 21 in Chandigarh, marriage in Karnal on November 22 and reception in Ambala on November 24.
But Justice Shali wondered: "What will the man do in 'ladies sangeet'?" and went ahead to reserve his orders.
Sharma was awarded life imprisonment by the Delhi high court in December 2006 for shooting Jessica at Tamarind Court Cafe owned by socialite Bina Ramani at Qutub Colonnade in south Delhi during a late-night party in 1999. The life term was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2010.
In September 2009, he was given a 30-day parole to attend to his ailing mother and perform rituals following the death of his grandmother.