The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted an 18-day parole to Manu Sharma, who is serving a life sentence for killing model Jessica Lall in 1999, so that he can pursue his LLB course and get his marriage registered. He has been granted parole till January 31.
Sharma had requested the court to allow him to attend his Personal Contact Programme, which is related to his LLB course, and establish his social connections again, the Hindu reported.
"Keeping in view that petitioner (Sharma) has been granted parole by this court earlier also, the court is inclined to give him the relief till January 31," the court said.
Sharma had moved the high court to seek direction to the Delhi government to decide on his plea asking for a one month parole extension.
Sharma had been granted a two-week parole by the Delhi government on December 27, 2016, so that he could take his LLB second semester exams that were scheduled to begin from December 31, 2016. His parole was supposed to end on January 12.
Sharma, son of former Union Minister Venod Sharma, had requested the court to grant him a one month parole because he has to appear before the Registrar in Chandigarh on January 19 to get his marriage registered and also attend his Personal Contact Programme for LLB course and re-establish social ties, the daily reported. Sharma has been granted parole six times since September 2009. He has done a post-graduate diploma in Human Rights and is currently pursuing LLB from Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu.
Sharma was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2006 for killing Jessica Lall after she refused to serve him alcohol on the night of April 30, 1999, at the Tamarind Court restaurant owned by socialite Bina Ramani. The restaurant is situated in Qutub Colonnade in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi.
The trial court held him not guilty of the charges, but the Delhi High Court reversed the decision following which the Supreme Court upheld the sentence in April 2010, the daily reported.
