NEW DELHI: Close to 17 years after he was sentenced to life for pulling the trigger to murder model Jessica Lal in 1999 at a night club, Manu Sharma was set free on Monday. Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal accepted the recommendation by the Sentence Review Board on grounds of good behaviour.
Lodged in Tihar jail, Sharma was on parole since the first week of April as part of measures to prevent crowding of jails in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.Jessica’s sister Sabrina Lal was okay with the release. "Honestly speaking I don’t have any reaction. I am feeling completely numb. The only thing I pray to god is that he never ever repeats the same mistake... I think justice has been served."
This was the sixth time Sharma’s plea for premature release was placed before the board, which is under the Delhi government. For the board to consider premature release, a jail inmate has to fulfil three broad criteria: show good conduct; get a police recommendation for release; and an assessment on rehabilitation by a social investigation report.
According to prison officials, Sharma’s release was cleared because of good conduct in jail and his contribution in helping rehabilitate families of underprivileged prisoners. He funded the education of more than 500 children of prisoners and gave business ideas to promote the Tihar Jail’s brand.
Along with him, 18 other convicts were freed. Any convict who has completed 14 years in prison without remission is eligible for early release.
In 2018, Sabrina had said she had forgiven Sharma. "His conviction was closure for me," she had said.
Sharma’s lawyer Amit Sahni approached the Delhi High Court in November 2019 seeking his client’s release.