By IANS,
Chennai : Tamil Nadu Friday opposed a plea for the premature release of Nalini Sriharan and three others convicted for the 1991 killing of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, prompting the Madras High Court to postpone the matter to Sep 17.
Appearing for the state government, advocate general G. Masilamani reiterated its opposition to the premature release of the convicts on “improper technical grounds”.
On its part, the central government filed an application seeking time to file a detailed response to the notice issued by the court.
Judge S. Nagamuthu had last week ordered the state government to file its counter plea during Friday’s hearing.
Nalini and the three others were sentenced to death in 2000 for murdering Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991. The president of India commuted Nalini’s sentence to life imprisonment after an appeal for clemency by Rajiv Gandhi’s widow and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
While Nalini has appealed for immediate release on technical grounds citing that she had already spent 17 years in prison – a period beyond the usual maximum for a life sentence, the other convicts have filed a similar appeal saying waiting for the hangman indefinitely was worse than death.