At Tihar Jail,parole is tough ask

Mittal has been filing parole applications for Tihar inmates for past three years now.

“Sometimes they say it (parole application) has been rejected on the basis of adverse police reports,” Mittal said.

According to the manual for Tihar Jail,two grounds that qualify an applicant for parole are medical reasons and sale of property.

As a Delhi Legal Services Authority advocate,Mittal usually files applications for prisoners belonging to economically weaker sections as they can’t afford to hire private counsels.

DLSA arranges for lawyers for prisoners who can’t afford one.

Right denied
Mittal vividly remembers the agony of many prisoners when they are denied parole.

“There was this man who had spent 17 years in Jail No. 2. He wanted parole to sell his property for his daughter’s marriage. He was rejected and he cried and cried,” he said. “These stories break your heart. Later,when I was transferred to Jail No. 5,he got parole but had to used influence. It is all about who you know and which strings you can pull.”

Tihar officials,however,said parole is not unusual and most convicts who apply for it get it,provided their conduct in jail has been satisfactory. They said Manu Sharma’s conduct in jail was good.

There are many who disagree with the Tihar officials.

Purnima Sethi,a High Court lawyer said the government rejects most parole applications.

Sethi recalls the case of a murder convict who applied for a parole to meet his ailing father. The government rejected his parole and he appealed in the High Court. But while the matter was pending with the court,the prisoner’s father died and he applied for a parole once again. It was rejected again,she said.

“Even yesterday one was rejected. This was a murder convict,Shobhraj. He wanted to file a special leave petition,which is his legal right.”

Govt gets HC rap
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday pulled up the government for not following the court’s directions on parole. Justice Kailash Gambhir,also asked the government to explain the delay in granting parole to other convicts. The court had earlier said parole applications must be decided within 10 days. The court also asked the Delhi home secretary to personally present himself before the court and explain the violations.