E-Paper
Rajiv Gandhi case convict Robert Payas granted one month parole by Madras HC
After hearing the arguments of Tamil Nadu Home Department, Prisons Department and Payas’s counsel, the court granted a 30-day temporary leave for the convict to make arrangements for the marriage of his son.
The Madras High Court on Thursday granted one month parole to Robert Payas, one of the seven life-term convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
The petition, moved by Payas in September, was heard by a division bench comprising of justices MM Sundaresh and RMT Teeka Raman.
After hearing the arguments of Tamil Nadu Home Department, Prisons Department and Payas’s counsel, the court granted a 30-day temporary leave for the convict to make arrangements for the marriage of his son.
Payas’ son has been living in the Netherlands.
Earlier in October this year, Payas approached the prisons department for parole for making marriage arrangements for his son. However, the prisons authorities dismissed his petition. He then moved to the Madras HC for getting the parole.
The court has allowed Payas to go on leave from November 25 to December 24. The judges said that during parole, the convict should not interact with media, political parties or other personalities. “The petitioner, a convict should keep good conduct and not disrupt public peace,” the court directed.
Payas has been serving his jail-term since August 16, 1991, in connection with the former PM Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.
He said in his petition that he had never granted any parole under Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentences Rules 1982 in his 28 years of imprisonment.
Payas and six other people -- Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, S Jayakumar and Nalini -- are serving a life term in connection with the assassination of Gandhi by a suicide bomber at an election rally in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.
