Delhi High Court Reviews Premature Release Plea

Case Background

The Delhi High Court is reviewing a plea for early release. The plea comes from Santosh Kumar Singh. He is serving a life sentence for a serious crime. The crime was the 1996 rape and murder of law student Priyadarshini Mattoo.

Recent Updates

Justice Sanjeev Narula heard arguments from both sides. The state and Singh presented their cases. The judge reserved the order on May 14. Singh filed a petition in 2023. He wants to overturn the Sentence Review Board’s (SRB) decision. The SRB rejected his early release in October 2021.

Arguments Heard

Senior advocate Mohit Mathur represents Singh. He argued that Singh has served 25 years. This includes time off for good behavior. Mathur stated that Singh’s conduct has improved. He has changed and is no longer a threat. Singh could be a productive member of society. He has been in an open jail for several years.

Latest SRB Meeting

The court learned about another SRB meeting. It was held on September 18, 2024. Singh’s case was again rejected for early release.

Crime Details

Priyadarshini Mattoo was 25 years old. She was raped and murdered in January 1996. Singh was a law student at Delhi University. He was acquitted by the trial court in 1999. However, the Delhi High Court overruled this decision. In 2006, they found him guilty. He was sentenced to death for rape and murder.

Legal Journey

Singh is the son of a former IPS officer. He challenged the punishment. In 2010, the Supreme Court upheld his conviction. However, they changed his sentence to life imprisonment. The high court granted Singh three weeks’ parole in 2019. He used this time to appear for the LLM examination. He had completed the first part of his LLM in 2014. He then took admission to the second part.

Key Points

• Delhi High Court reviews early release plea.
• Santosh Kumar Singh serving life term for 1996 crime.
• Singh’s petition seeks to overturn SRB recommendation.
• Senior advocate argues Singh’s good conduct and reformation.
• Recent SRB meeting again rejected Singh’s early release.
• Singh’s conviction upheld but sentence changed to life imprisonment.