Dynamite News
'Tandoor murder' case comes full circle
High Court on Friday ordered the immediate release from jail of former youth Congress leader, Sushil Sharma, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his wife Naina Sahni and trying to dispose off the corpse in the oven of an upscale restaurant in the Capital 23 years ago.
New Delhi: High Court on Friday ordered the immediate release from jail of former youth Congress leader, Sushil Sharma, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his wife Naina Sahni and trying to dispose off the corpse in the oven of an upscale restaurant in the Capital 23 years ago.
A division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal today, after hearing, observed that Sharma's aged, infirm parents, well into their 80S, were in need of succour and support from him in their twilight years.
It questioned the Delhi government why it refused to release Sharma even though he had served his sentence and after hearing the submission passed an order to immediately release him from jail.
Policemen, who investigated the case, said that Sharma murdered Naina in a drunken rage on July 2, 1995, suspecting that she was having an extra-marital affair. He shot Naina twice killing her almost instantly.
Sharma at first planned to dispose off her body by dumping it in the Yamuna but was deterred as the bridge over the river was full of cars and eyewitnesses. He, later, decided to burn Naina's remains in a tandoor at a restaurant operated by a friend. Then, according to the police officials, he chopped her body and attempted to destroy the remains by burning the chopped parts in a clay oven or tandoor. This led to Naina Sahni's killing moniker as 'Tandoor murder' or 'Tandoor kand' in the media.
Sharma first approached the Delhi Government but when his plea for early release was rejected, he moved Delhi High Court for relief.
Counsel for Sharma submitted that he had undergone maximum punishment since 1995 in prison. Norms on premature release state that a life convict sentenced for a single offence are to be released after completion of 20 years of incarceration. Those who committed heinous crimes are to be freed after 25 years.