Nalini challenges Government Order rejecting plea for her premature release

Nalini, who is undergoing life imprisonment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, has challenged a Tamil Nadu Government Order (GO), which rejected her plea for premature release, in the Madras high court.

The petition came up for hearing today before Justice M Sathyanarayanan, who directed the authorities concerned to file a counter affidavit before November 30.

In her petition, 44-year-old Nalini, whose death sentence was commuted to life, said she was considered for early release in October 2007 by the government. However, by a GO her request was rejected under the Prison Advisory Board Scheme.

Nalini said, she had challenged the rejection order and that the board had been reconstituted, pursuant to a September 2008 high court order.

After the matter was considered by this Board, the government by another GO of March 24, 2010, rejected her plea for premature release for the second time and hence the present petition.

Nalini contended that the state had heavily relied on the observations made by the board for turning down her plea, ignoring the Supreme Court observations in the Maru Ram case.

The board, she claimed, had not considered the object of premature release, reformation and rehabilitation of prisoners.