The Delhi Sentence Review Board (SRB) on Thursday rejected pleas for early release of convicts in the Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini Mattoo and Tandoor murder cases. Out of 102 pleas, the board recommended release of 22 convicts on completion of their sentences and rejected pleas of 86 others.
The panel, headed by Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain, reviewed the applications of Manu Sharma, convicted in the sensational murder case of Jessica Lal; Santosh Singh, convicted in the brutal Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case; and Sushil Sharma the former President of Delhi Youth Congress, convicted in the infamous Tandoor murder case. The SRB rejected all the three cases.
“The board has rejected early release applications of all the three convicts. The board recommended release of 22 convicts on completion of their sentences and rejected 86 other cases,” said the government official.
In 1996, Santosh Singh, son of then serving IPS officer JP Singh, who was a Additional Commissioner of Police with Delhi Police and also served as Inspector General of Police of Puducherry, was arrested for the rape and murder of third-year law student Priyadarshini Mattoo.
The 23-year-old was found dead at her house in Vasant Vihar in January 1996. Singh and Mattoo were fellow students at Delhi University.
In 1999, a city court acquitted Singh of the charges, highlighting inaction by Delhi Police. The verdict triggered protests across the country. The police appealed the sentence in Delhi high court, which convicted him in 2006.
Manu Sharma was convicted in 2006 for the murder of model Jessica Lal and given a life sentence. Sushil Sharma was convicted in 2006 in the Naina Sahni tandoor murder and also sentence to life imprisonment.
According to sources, board members have given positive reviews about the prison conducts of Manu Sharma and Sushil Sharma, the board deferred the cases of the two men during the July 24 meeting. The two have also been transferred to the ‘open’ and ‘semi-open’ jail.
“As per the prison rules, after prisoner have served for a long term and have behaved well in prison, we are duty-bound to include the names and send it to the SRB for review,” said a senior prison official. The cases of Sushil Sharma, Manu Sharma and Santosh Singh weredeliberated by the SRB but it was found that releasing them on this basis alone would be a travesty of justice”, the official added.