The Delhi High Court on Friday ordered release of former youth Congress leader Sushil Kumar Sharma,who has been serving life term for the murder of his wife Naina Sahni in 1995.
A Bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal quashed the recommendations of the Sentence Review Board (SRB) which had rejected Sharma’s representation for premature release.
Sharma has already undergone over two decades of incarceration in the case.
Now 56, Sharma had shot dead his wife in 1995, objecting to her alleged relationship with a male friend. He had then chopped her body into pieces and attempted to burn it in a restaurant oven.
The case, infamous as the Tandoor murder case, is one of the landmark cases in India in which DNA evidence and a second autopsy were used to establish the guilt of the accused.
The High Court had earlier issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its stand on Sharma’s plea seeking release from custody on the grounds that he has been jailed for over two decades, including the period of remission.
Sharma, who is in prison since 1995, had contended that he has already undergone the maximum prescribed sentence as mandated under the SRB guidelines.
Advocate Amit Sahni, appearing for Sharma, pointed out that there are two categories of the life convicts. The first category is to be considered for premature release after completion of 14 years without remission and custody in such should ordinarily not exceed 20 years. In the second category, the heinous category, the life convicts are to be considered for premature release in 20 years including remission and incarceration even in such cases should not exceed 25 years with remission.
Mr. Sahni said Sharma’s case falls under the first category as he has undergone 29 years of incarceration, with remission, and 23 years and six months, without remission.
Mr. Sahni also argued that his client was entitled to premature release but since there has been much “media hype” in the case, the SRB decided otherwise.
Delhi government Standing Counsel (Criminal) Rahul Mehra had said that the Lieutenant-Governor, who is the competent authority to decide on premature release of convicts, had accepted SRB recommendations not to release Sharma and all records were put before him.
