NEW DELHI: In a relief to former youth Congress leader Sushil Kumar Sharma, serving a life term in the 1995 murder case of his wife Naina Sahni, the Delhi High Court on Friday questioned the city government as to why he has not been released after having undergone 29 years of incarceration.
A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal asked the Secretary, Home Department and Secretary of Law and Justice Department to be present before it on the next date of hearing, December 18, with original records of Sharma’s application to the Sentence Review Board (SRB) for premature release and the reasons for rejecting it.
Terming the issue as serious, the court issued a notice to the Delhi government and sought its stand on Sharma’s habeas corpus plea seeking release from custody in the case on the grounds that he has been jailed for 29 years, including the period of remission, and his continued incarceration was illegal.
The bench said that “life and liberty of any individual is of paramount consideration” and asked the Delhi government how someone can be kept in custody “indefinitely”.
In his plea, Sharma, in prison since 1995, has contended that he has already undergone the maximum prescribed sentence as mandated under the SRB guidelines. According to his plea, the guidelines on premature release state that life convicts sentenced for a single offence are to be released after completion of 20 years of incarceration and those who had committed heinous crimes are to be granted the relief after 25 years.
The petition has said even though Sharma’s case falls in the first category, he has also undergone 29 years of incarceration, with remission, and 23 years and six months, without remission. 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.
Tandoor murder
The 1995 murder of Naina Sahni had caught national attention. Sushil Kumar had shot her because he suspected her of having an affair. He tried to dispose of her body by burning it in a tandoor.