The bench adjourned the hearing to August 12.
Chennai:
The Madras High Court questioned on Monday why the government of Tamil Nadu vehemently opposed the request for parole brought by Rajiv Gandhi, life sentence, AG Perarivalan, as the cabinet recommended the release of the seven convicts in the case.
“Your cabinet recommended his full release. So why are you opposing his one-month parole application. Do not argue for the sake of opposing,” said a division bench, made up of the judges N Kirubakaran and VM Velumani to prosecutor A Natarajan. .
The PP explained that he does not object for the sake of doing it, but that the applicant must have valid reasons for requesting parole.
“Only last year he was on leave. According to prison rules, an inmate can only be eligible for next parole after three years. In addition, the prison doctor made it clear in his report that although the detainee suffered from a series of illnesses, he is currently on medication and is stable, ”said Natarajan.
The petitioner’s lead lawyer Shanmugasundaram pointed out that there is a provision in the prison regulations under which the state can exempt a prisoner from these conditions and grant parole.
“There are such exemptions, but these cannot be granted for medical reasons,” Natarajan added.
Refusing to accept the argument, the bench said that if the rules prohibit medical leave, then those rules have become redundant. “It needs to be updated. Are you saying that illnesses are not extraordinary situations?” Asked the bench.
The court then ordered the state and the petitioner to file an affidavit on the current status of the Multidisciplinary Monitoring Agency investigating the larger plot behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and the interim Supreme Court orders relating thereto. with the case.
The bench then adjourned the hearing to August 12.
On July 29, the Tamil Nadu government informed the court that the governor was awaiting the MDMA’s final report before making a decision on the cabinet’s recommendation to release the seven lifers in the case.
The matter concerns a plea presented by T Arputham, mother of lifelong convict AG Perarivalan, who asked the court for a hearing to grant 90 days parole to her son, who needs immediate medical attention due to various affections.
Besides Nalini Sriharan and her husband, the other convicts in the Rajiv case are AG Perarivalan, Santhan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran and Robert Pyas.
All are serving life sentences for their role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991 by an LTTE suicide bomber in nearby Sriperumbudur.
