The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted parole for nine days to Siddharth Vashishtha alias Manu Sharma to appear in examinations for a post-graduate degree in human rights.
Manu has been serving life imprisonment in the sensational Jessica Lal murder case in which the young ramp model was shot dead at point blank range in socialite Bina Ramani’s Tamarind Court restaurant at Mehrauli here in the early hours of April 30, 1999.
Justice Hima Kohli granted the parole from December 28 to January 5. However, she directed that Sharma would write the papers at a centre in Delhi, not in Chandigarh. The jail authorities would make arrangements for shifting of his examination here, Justice Kohli said.
Earlier, the Delhi Police in their status report informed the Court that the examinations would begin on December 30.
Sharma had sought parole for one month.
Manu said in his application that he wanted parole for preparations for his second semester examinations which are scheduled to begin on December 30.
He had to prepare a master thesis, field and case study reports and select a guide for completion of the course, his parole application further said.
Sharma’s counsel also informed the Court that his conduct had been good in the jail.
Before moving Court, Manu had last month sought parole from the Delhi Government but it took no decision on that, the application said.
The High Court had in 2006 awarded life imprisonment to Manu which was later also confirmed by the Supreme Court. The trial court had earlier acquitted him.
The prosecution case was that Jessica Lal was shot dead by Sharma when she refused to serve liquor to him at the bar.
