Nalini Sreeharan's plea for premature release to be heard today - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The Madras High Court will on Thursday hear a report of the advisory board, which has called for the premature release of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassin, Nalini Sreeharan. The Prison Board had earlier submitted its recommendation report to the Tamil Nadu Government. The state government's counsel had asked for a two-week adjournment after receiving the report. The High Court had rejected the request and asked the government to produce the report today. It is expected that the report will be submitted in a sealed envelope, as the State Government would like to keep it confidential till a final decision is taken in this regard. The advisory board had earlier recommended Nalini's premature release, but the government had said that a final decision in this regard would be taken only after consulting the Central Government. Nalini Sreeharan, one of the accomplices in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination has been convicted on 16 counts of murder, and found guilty in Section 302 of Indian Penal Code on all 16 counts. She has also been convicted under Section 3 of TADA and Section 120-B of IPC, dealing with conspiracy. She was arrested on June 14, 1991 and sentenced to death along with 25 others by a Special Court on January 28, 1998. Later, the Governor of Tamil Nadu commuted her death sentence to life sentence based on Nalini's clemency plea, Congress President Sonia Gandhi's statements and advice from the state cabinet.