New Delhi:
The Supreme Court will today hear a bail petition by Khalil Chishty, who is lodged at the Ajmer Central Jail in connection with a murder case. Dr Chishty is an 80-year-old Pakistani virologist and has been in jail for years.
Dr Chishty is accused of killing a man during a brawl in Ajmer in April 1992. He was visiting the Rajasthan city then to offer prayers at the famous shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisty.
In January last year, the Karachi virologist was awarded life imprisonment after an 18-year-long trial. The octogenarian has been a heart patient for three decades. He is unable to walk unaided and has to be carried to and from jail by two people.
Sources said Dr Chishty's case was discussed at yesterday's lunch meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari during the latter's one-day India visit. Pakistani officials have urged India to set Dr Chishty free, the sources said. President Zardari's was a private visit to the Ajmer shrine, with a diplomatic stopover in New Delhi.
In June last year, Supreme Court Justice Markandeya Katju had requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to release Dr Chishty on humanitarian grounds. Acting on Justice Katju's appeal, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot approved his mercy plea and sent it to Governor Shivraj Patil for final clearance. But Mr Patil sent a questionnaire to the law department on various issues related to the case.