Parole is humanitarian, says Jethmalani

Manu Sharma's lawyer Ram Jethmalani has defended his client's parole. Speaking on the show The Buck Stops Here, Jethmalani accused the media of being unreasonable and said parole was necessary to prevent prisoners from becoming the enemies of the society. "Parole does not reduce the period of punishment. Long periods in prison can turn a prisoner into a bitter enemy of society," says the eminent lawyer. "A prisoner should be allowed to remain a normal citizen. Parole is humanitarian," he says. On Thursday, fresh details on the circumstances in which Manu Sharma was granted parole came to light. Delhi Police had told government that ground for parole was "not appealing". The police has also said that Manu Sharma's personal attention was not needed to look after his mother and that his business interests did not need personal supervision. However, Chandigarh police and Tihar Jail authorities supported Manu Sharma's parole appeal. Chandigarh police say they gave a factual report on Manu after reports that the Delhi Police objected to his parole. According to sources, the Delhi police wrote to its South District team for its report on Sharma's parole request. That's because the crime was committed in that district. The Delhi police said they found that all three reasons given by Manu for parole were not correct or merited parole. They sent this advice to the Delhi government, but apparently this was overlooked when Sharma was granted parole. Sheila Dixit, the Delhi Chief Minister, says she followed procedure. But her own police officers said a clear no to the parole request from Manu Sharma, the man serving a life sentence for the murder of Jessica Lall. Manu Sharma was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for killing model Jessica Lall. He was granted a two-month parole on the grounds that he needed to attend to his ageing mother, and his family business. The two-month parole granted to Manu sparked off a controversy. Sharma was granted bail on the following grounds:     * Performing the last rites of his grandmother * To maintain social ties * To attend to ageing mother and neglected family busines However, Sharma's lawyer, Ram Jethmalani, pointed out that as a prisoner whose appeal against his sentence is pending in court, Sharma is entitled to parole. Critics retaliate that while the parole may be legal, it is offensive to see a prisoner using time off from jail to drop into a nightclub. "I was very close to Jessica Lall... I don't want the guy who murdered her in my club," says actor Arjun Rampal to NDTV. Rampal's club, LAP, is where Manu Sharma was seen on Friday night. (Manu not welcome in my club: Arjun Rampal) Rampal says that Sharma was allowed into LAP only because he was with a member of the club. According to Rampal, Sharma stayed for ten minutes at his club. CCTV footage, handed over to the police, allegedly shows Manu Sharma at the nightclub. The Delhi police say it was alerted to Sharma's presence at the club after a fight broke out in the area. The police say Sharma was not involved in the fight. Since Jessica Lall was shot dead in 2006, there have been repeated allegations, in court and outside, that Manu Sharma has benefited in the case from his father's political influence. Venod Sharma, a senior Congress leader from Haryana, just won his seat in the Haryana Assembly with a gigantic majority.

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