Chennai:
Is Rajiv Gandhi's assassin one step closer to freedom?
The Madras High Court will receive on Thursday a report that reportedly recommends Nalini Sriharan be released from the Vellore jail where she has spent the last 19 years.
The report, prepared by the prison's advisory board, allegedly says that Nalini's good behavior is grounds for her to leave prison. Nalini's original death sentence was commuted to life in prison after Sonia Gandhi intervened. Gandhi, whose husband, Rajiv, was killed by Nalini, asked for the reprieve for Nalini after the assassin had a baby daughter.
Describing the latest developments, Nalini's lawyer, M Radhakrishnan, says, "Based on the content of the report, the court may ask the Tamil Nadu government to decide on Nalini's case..or may ask the state government to approach the Centre for their advise."
The DMK government has already indicated that it will consult with the Centre before making any decision on Nalini's future.
In September, Nalini went on a hunger strike to demand that she be set free. In her appeal to the Madras High Court, she said, "I would like to settle down peacefully... I am already 43. Due to my health condition after 18 years in jail, I cannot expect to live long.''
Nalini was arrested in 1991 and sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 1999. After Sonia Gandhi intervened, her sentence was changed to life imprisonment a year later.
Nalini first asked to be released from jail in 2007, but an advisory board at that time rejected her request. Nalini appealed to the Madras High Court after that.
Hope for Nalini's early release brightened after Priyanka Gandhi secretly met her in prison two years ago. Priyanka, who was a teenager when her father was killed, later told NDTV that she had forgiven her father's killer.
The Madras High Court will receive on Thursday a report that reportedly recommends Nalini Sriharan be released from the Vellore jail where she has spent the last 19 years.
The report, prepared by the prison's advisory board, allegedly says that Nalini's good behavior is grounds for her to leave prison. Nalini's original death sentence was commuted to life in prison after Sonia Gandhi intervened. Gandhi, whose husband, Rajiv, was killed by Nalini, asked for the reprieve for Nalini after the assassin had a baby daughter.
Describing the latest developments, Nalini's lawyer, M Radhakrishnan, says, "Based on the content of the report, the court may ask the Tamil Nadu government to decide on Nalini's case..or may ask the state government to approach the Centre for their advise."
The DMK government has already indicated that it will consult with the Centre before making any decision on Nalini's future.
In September, Nalini went on a hunger strike to demand that she be set free. In her appeal to the Madras High Court, she said, "I would like to settle down peacefully... I am already 43. Due to my health condition after 18 years in jail, I cannot expect to live long.''
Nalini was arrested in 1991 and sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 1999. After Sonia Gandhi intervened, her sentence was changed to life imprisonment a year later.
Nalini first asked to be released from jail in 2007, but an advisory board at that time rejected her request. Nalini appealed to the Madras High Court after that.
Hope for Nalini's early release brightened after Priyanka Gandhi secretly met her in prison two years ago. Priyanka, who was a teenager when her father was killed, later told NDTV that she had forgiven her father's killer.
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