S Nalini seeks 6-month parole for daughter's wedding

Chennai: S. Nalini, serving a life sentence in Vellore prison for her involvement in Rajiv Gandhi assassination, has approached the Madras High Court to direct the authorities to grant her ordinary leave (parole) for six months for the purpose of making arrangements for her daughter's marriage. This petition is likely to come up for hearing on July 31.

In her petition, Nalini submitted that the state government framed a scheme of premature release of life convicts, who had completed 20 years of actual imprisonment on humanitarian grounds under Article 161 of the Constitution.  Since her representation to the Governor of TN dated February 22, 2014, was pen-ding with the governme-nt, she approached the HC for her premature release. The HC by its order dated July 20, 2016, disposed of her petition, holding that the state government would be at liberty to consider her representation in accordance with law, subject to the outcome of the petition pending before the Supreme Court, she added.

She said as a life convict, she was entitled to be granted ordinary lea-ve for one month once in two years. She has not so far availed of any ordinary leave during her stay in prison for more than 26 years. She has to make certain arrangements for the marriage of her daughter Harithra who was presently residing with her grandparents in London. She had made a representation dated November 12, 2016, addressed to the then Chief Minister requesting her to grant her parole for making arrangements for her daughter's marriage. She again made another representation dated January 23, 2017, to the prison authority requesting him to grant her  parole . However, she has not so far been granted parole as requested, she added.