Siddharth Vashisht, alias Manu Sharma, undergoing life term for killing model Jessica lall in 1999, was on Friday granted parole for 30 days by the Delhi High Court so that he can appear for his postgraduation exams.
A vacation bench of Justice S Muralidhar granted parole to 37-year-old Sharma on the condition that he shall furnish a personal bond of Rs50,000 with one surety, for the like amount, who shall be a family member. Sharma’s final year exams are scheduled to commence from January 1, 2015. He is pursuing PG from Indian Institute of Human Rights here which is recognised by the United Nations. The court also directed that Sharma will not leave the National Capital Territory of Delhi for the duration of the parole, which shall be effective from the date of his release. The other terms and conditions of the parole include keeping away from the area around the residence of the deceased and her family members, the court said.
Senior advocate Aman lekhi, appearing for Sharma, told the court that his client’s conduct has always been good while in prison and the same has been appreciated by the Tihar Jail superintendents. The counsel also claimed Sharma, through his NGO, Siddharth Vashisht Charitable Trust, has done work for the education of the children of jailed inmates. After hearing Sharma’s counsel as well as the fact that the sole opposition by Delhi Police to his parole was his unsatisfactory conduct back in 2009 when he was granted a similar relief, the court granted him parole for 30 days from his date of release on December 30.