TN govt to reconsider Nalini's bail appeal

Chennai: Nalini Sriharan, who is convicted in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case has another shot at an early release as the Madras High Court has requested the Tamil Nadu government to reconsider her bail appeal again.

Nalini has been in the Vellore Jail for over 17 years now. Her appeal for an early release was rejected by the Tamil Nadu Government in 2006.

But the Madras High Court has quashed that order and asked the state government to re-consider Nalini’s appeal.

The court in its order pointed out that the Advisory Board which rejected Nalini's appeal was not constituted according to the rules and that there was no serious concern shown in the matter.

Nalini had argued that while the board ought to have seven members only there were three when the decision was taken.

The court also made it clear that it had no opinion on the decision rejecting her release but it is sending the matter for re-consideration only because of serous flaws in adhering to the procedure

"We have got what we exactly prayed for. We had argued that the advisory board's decision was flawed because it had only three members and not the stipulated seven. It is a victory for us,” says Nalini’s lawyer S Duraiswamy.

Nalini's case has often had a Gandhi factor. Her death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2000 after Sonia Gandhi herself had supported Nalini's case on humanitarian grounds and her case came back to the headlines after Priyanka Gandhi made a visit to meet her.

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#Nalini Sriharan #Rajiv Gandhi assassination #Vellore