Devil’s Advocate continues ………….

On 20 April 2011, Sheila Dikshit, the then chief minister (CM) of Delhi, chaired a meeting of the Sentence Review Board. Cases of convicts serving life sentences in Tihar Prisons were to be considered for commutation.

Other members of the board included the principal home secretary, the judicial secretary, the district and sessions judge, the chief probation officer, the joint commissioner of police of crime, and sundry other officials.

After the board reviewed two or three other cases, Manjeet’s matter came up for discussion. As on the five earlier occasions, when his case had been considered and rejected, once again the entire board was of the opinion that he deserved no mercy. After all, he had killed an eminent advocate in cold blood, only because he (the advocate) was doing his duty as a special prosecutor. The most vocal amongst the board members were the judicial secretary and the sessions judge, who considered themselves to be members of the same fraternity as the deceased victim.

The board was unanimously firm that Manjeet should breathe his last within the confines of Tihar. For a ruthless criminal like him, life sentence meant life sentence, period.

Finally, having heard everyone else, the chief minister turned to me for my view. I informed the board that if anyone in the room should oppose the commutation of Manjeet’s life sentence tooth and nail, it should be me. I gave the CM and the others present the background of my association with Gurcharan Singh, how he had come to our rescue when all seemed lost and how beholden I was to him till date. Yet, ironically, it was I who was pleading for mercy for my saviour’s killer.

I went on to say that I had observed Manjeet Singh from close quarters. I had always found him to be disciplined and well behaved. Most importantly, I felt he was at peace with himself and the world. During the nineteen years that he had spent in prison, there had been no complaints against him.

To be Continued ………….