Pilot says he might not have recommended parole to Manu Sharma

Disapproving the grant of parole to Jessica Lall murder convict Manu Sharma, Congress leader Sachin Pilot has said that he might not have recommended parole to the lifer had he been the chief minister of Delhi.

He said more diligence should have been followed before giving parole to Sharma.

"I personally believed that perhaps more diligence should have been made before issuing these orders. The fact that he has already gone back (to jail) does not make a difference now," Pilot said while participating in a programme in NDTV.

Asked whether it was a mistake for the Delhi government to have recommended parole for Sharma, Pilot said, "Well I am not Delhi Chief Minister. From whatever I know of the case, if I was the chief minister I would probably not have given the parole".

Sharma was granted parole after Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit recommended for it. Sharma, who had applied for the parole on the ground of attending his ailing mother in Chandigarh, was allegedly seen at a few bars in the capital.

There were allegations that Sharma violated the parole conditions. Dikshit has justified her decision, saying that it was within the "legal purview."

Sharma is serving life sentence at Tihar jail after losing a protracted legal battle in Delhi High Court which held him guilty of murdering model Jessica on April 29, 1999 at the Tamarind Court Bar owned by socialite Bina Ramani.