Madras HC extends Rajiv case life convict Nalini's parole by 3 weeks

The Madras High Court on Thursday extended by three weeks the parole of Nalini Sriharan, one of the convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

Convict Nalini had sought an extension to complete arrangements for her daughter's marriage.

Passing orders on a plea by Nalini, seeking a one-month extension of her parole to complete arrangements for her daughter's marriage, a Division Bench comprising Justice M M Sundresh and Justice M Nirmal Kumar extended her parole by three weeks.

Nalini was first granted the 30-day parole by the Madras High Court on July 5 to make arrangements for her daughter's wedding.

The court had also directed Tamil Nadu Government to bear the expenses towards escort charges. Nalini had approached the High Court before a bench of judges led by Justices Sunderesh and Nirmal Kumar to argue her case seeking six months of ordinary leave for the preparations.

This is the first time that she came out on parole in 28 years of imprisonment. In 2016, she was granted a 12-hour parole to attend the funeral of her father. Charithra Sriharan, Nalini's daughter, was born in prison and is currently a medical practitioner in London.

In May 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber during an election rally in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. The attack also left 14 other people dead.