HC extends parole of murder convict by 60 days after his wedding

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has extended the parole granted to a murder convict by 60 more days. The Court had earlier on March 31, granted him parole for 15 days to enable him to get married to his lover who otherwise was being married off to someone else.

The convict, Anand, serving a 10-year imprisonment has already served six years in prison. His mother and lover had moved the HC earlier this year seeking parole for him for the purpose of marriage. Justice M Nagaprasanna had ordered the jail authorities to “release the detenue/ Anand on parole from the forenoon of 05.04.2023, till the evening of 20.04.2023.”

The court was moved again after the wedding with an interlocutory application. The HC in its order on April 17 noted, “It transpires that pursuant to the release of the convict on parole, he has married the 2nd petitioner and has produced a marriage certificate dated 11.04.2023 for which reason the parole has been granted. In view of the marriage between the two, petitioner now seeks extension of parole for a period of 60 days from 20.024.2023.”

Extending the parole the HC said, “In the light of the aforesaid circumstances, I deem it appropriate to extend the parole of the petitioner for a period of 60 days, finally, form 20.04.2023, making it clear that no such application would be entertained again for the same reason.” The Court also imposed conditions while granting parole.

“The parole is extended on the very same conditions that were imposed earlier while granting parole, however subject to petitioner marking his attendance once in a week on every Sunday between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm before the concerned jurisdictional police station,” it said.

Anand’s mother, Rathnamma and lover Neetha G, had approached the HC with the petition. Neetha G, 30, claimed that she would be married off to someone else and therefore Anand needs parole to marry her. She claimed to be in love with Anand for the last nine years. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder which was later reduced to 10 years imprisonment.