Rajiv Gandhi case convict Nalini seeks premature release

A convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, S Nalini has approached the Supreme Court seeking premature release.

She challenged the Madras High Court's order, which dismissed her plea saying that it cannot exercise powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to pass similar order, which was passed by the apex court to release another accused, A G Perarivalan, in the case.

The High Court had on June 17 this year had declined her the relief. The woman is undergoing life term in the case.

Read | Can’t order your release: Madras HC tells two Rajiv Gandhi case convicts

“The directions sought by the petitioner cannot be given by the court, as it otherwise does not have power similar to what the apex court has under Article 142 (to do complete justice) of the Constitution of India. For the foregoing reasons, the writ petition is dismissed as not maintainable," it had said.

On May 18, the Supreme Court invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, as it ordered the release of Perarivalan, sentenced to life in the 1992 assassination case.

The court had taken into account his satisfactory conduct in jail as well as during parole, chronic ailments, his educational qualifications acquired in jail and the pendency of his petition for release under Article 161 for two and a half years after the recommendation of the State Cabinet for remission of his sentence.