Karnataka High Court Grants Parole To Murder Convict For Tying The Knot With His Lover

Considering it an extraordinary circumstance, the Karnataka High Court has directed prison authorities to release a convict on parole for 15 days so that he could get married to his girlfriend. The mother and lover of the convict, who is serving a 10-year term for murder, approached the court fearing the latter was being married off to someone else. The Additional Government Advocate, however, submitted to the court "that there is no provision for grant of parole to get married". He submitted that if it were to be anybody else's marriage that the detenue wanted to attend, it would have been a different circumstance. However, Justice M Nagaprasanna considered this as an extraordinary situation that warranted parole to the convict, Anand.

"According to the Additional Government Advocate, the objectives of parole as obtaining under Clause 636 of the Prison Manual would not ensure to the benefit of the detenue for his release. Sub-clause 12 of Clause 636 of the Prison Manual gives the discretion to the Head of the Institution to grant parole on any other extraordinary circumstances. It is therefore, in the considered view of this Court that this would be an extraordinary circumstance for grant of parole," the court observed. Anand's mother Rathnamma and lover Neetha G, had approached the High Court with the petition.

In the petition, 30-year-old Neetha claimed that she would be married off to someone else and, therefore, Anand should be granted 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. He has already served six years of the sentence. The court recorded the submission of the advocate for the mother and his girlfriend. "Would contend that the release of the detenue is imperative, otherwise, he will lose the love of his life. Being in prison, he cannot bear the agony of his love getting married to someone else and therefore, seeks emergency parole on any condition that would be imposed upon the petitioner," the court recorded in its judgment.

The court directed the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara and Chief Superintendent of Police to "consider the representation of the petitioners and release the detenue/Anand on parole from the forenoon of 05.04.2023, till the evening of 20.04.2023." They were also directed to "stipulate strict conditions as are usually stipulated, to ensure return of the detenue and he shall not commit any other offence during the period of parole."