State to HC: Guv’s nod soon on release

A division bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice M Nirmal Kumar before whom the plea moved by Robert Pyas came up adjourned the same by four weeks after recording the government submission that the Governor’s nod in this regard is awaited.

Also, while another plea moved by convict Nalini Sriharan came up before another bench comprising Justice R Subbiah and Justice C Saravanan, the Public Prosecutor made a submission that the court would be appraised within four weeks about the status from the Governor’s office regards the resolution passed by the Council of Ministers to release all the seven convicts.

Based on this, the benchadjourned the plea by four weeks to enable the government file their counter. Nalini had moved the plea seeking for a direction to the Governor’s office to take immediate steps to release all seven life convicts in the case, as per the resolution passed by the Council of Ministers on September 9, 2018.

Nalini had contended that she was eligible for premature release based on the Government Order issued on November 10, 1994, which released life convicts who had completed 20 years of actual imprisonment on humanitarian grounds. Besides this, the state through the said resolution had also advised the Governor to release her and six other life convicts. Since the advice of the state is binding on the Governor, Nalini had submitted that she ought to have been released long ago.