Law forgives Manu Sharma, will society?

Manpriya Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 2

This has been one case for which the nation doesn’t need to jog its usually short memory. When The Tribune shared the news of Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal approving the premature release of Jessica Lal murder case convict Manu Sharma, initially hate comments, as expected, poured in. But call it the positive after-effect of the pandemic, subjective comments turned to neutral opinions to a debate that would have been unthinkable some years ago.

While the law has finally forgiven Manu, will the society follow suit? It is time to forgive at least, if not forget? It’s been 16 long years since Manu Sharma, son of a former Union Minister Venod Sharma, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court in December 2006 for killing Jessica Lal in 1999.

‘It’s time to stop judging’, posted a netizen. While there are many that have been left unhappy with the preponed release by three years, his friends vouch for Manu being a changed man now. A close associate of Manu’s father, said, “His behaviour in the jail has been exemplary. He did a wonderful job with the inmates at Tihar Jail, provided insurance to women inmates and even sponsored fee of their kids.” Who would’ve predicted a coming of age story in a jail?

The Delhi Sentence Review Board, which comes under the Delhi Government, had recommended Manu’s premature release last month. Many of his friends vouch for Manu being a completely changed man. One of them shared a heart-warming story, “As a partner in family business, Manu Sharma, during one of his paroles, donated a blank cheque to Mother Teresa’s charity. When they filled in Rs5 lakh, he insisted that the sum be turned into Rs50 lakh, his total profit share at that time.”

Abhinav Sood, advocate, Punjab and Haryana High Court, reminds us of something that he feels is often forgotten, ‘Justice is blind’, which means all shall be equal before law and famous public perception should not affect what has been done as per procedure. “Manu Sharma has spent long years in jail so I welcome his premature release along with 18 others after they have fulfilled the parameters required for their right. Even Jessica Lal’s younger sister Sabrina Lal had said in 2018 that she forgave Manu and would not object if he would be freed.”

Speaking of which, Sabrina had stated, “His conviction was a closure for me.” Whether it’s a closure for him in public perception remains to be seen.