Admitting her petition, Justice P Jothimani ordered a notice to the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary, the Union Home Ministry, the advisory board of the Vellore prison for women and the additional director-general of prisons and posted the case to June 10.

The apex court confirmed the death sentence of Nalini, her husband Sriharan alias Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan. Later, the death sentence of Nalini was commuted on the plea of Ms Gandhi who did not want the couple’s daughter to be orphaned.

In her petition, Nalini (42) sought quashing of the order of the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary on the basis of the recommendation of the Advisory Board for Vellore prison for women, rejecting her plea for premature release.

Appearing for her, counsel S Dorasamy said she is entitled to seek “premature release”.  “Life term in Tamil Nadu as per the state jail manual is 20 years,” he said.

Illegal board

He added that the constitution of the advisory board itself was illegal. Ordinarily, the board should have a chairman and six members. The chairman should be the IG of Prisons. Besides, it should have the sessions judge of the division where the prison is located, the district collector, the chief judicial magistrate, the regional probation officer, one or more non-official members appointed by the Government and the superintendent of the concerned prison. But the board and the Home Secretary rejected her plea on December 28, 2006 and October 31, 2007 respectively.

Her plea was rejected by the Home Secretary on the basis of the recommendation of the Additional Director-General of Prisons that under Section 435 of the CrPC, the state government had to act in consultation with the Central Government in certain cases for remission of sentences.

But Nalini had contended that the state government, while commuting her death sentence to a life sentence, had already consulted the Centre and there was, therefore, no need for any further consultation in this matter, which she insists her version be heard.