New Delhi, December 21: The Delhi High Court today ordered the immediate release of 1995 tandoor murder case convict Sushil Sharma. In October, the Delhi Government's Sentence Review Board (SRB) rejected the early release application of Sharma along with Manu Sharma and Santosh Kumar Singh. After the Delhi government rejected his plea for early release, Sharma approached the Delhi High Court for relief.

The former youth Congress leader is serving a life term in the 1995 murder of his wife Naina Sahni. According to the police, after killing Naina, Sharma chopped her body and attempted to destroy the remains by burning the chopped parts in a clay oven or tandoor. Sabrina Forgives Sister Jessica Lal's Killer Manu Sharma, No Objection to His Release From Tihar Jail.

During the previous hearing on December 18, the court raised the query whether a person could be allowed to be kept in jail indefinitely for the offence of murder even if he has already served the sentence. A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal said it was concerned with the human rights of the prisoner and termed the issue as "very serious". Referring to a report filed by SRB, the bench noted that the possibility of Sharma committing a similar offence again has been ruled and the authorities do not see him as a menace to society. "Then why should we keep him in jail indefinitely?," it asked.

Known as the tandoor (oven) murder case, it is one of the landmark cases in India in which DNA evidence and a second autopsy were used to establish the guilt of the accused. In his plea, Sharma has contended that his conduct in prison and while out on parole has been "exemplary" and he has never misused his liberty.

(With inputs from PTI)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 21, 2018 04:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).