Rajiv assassination case convict Nalini ends fast

Nalini, who is serving a life term in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, on Tuesday ended her two-day long indefinite fast demanding her premature release, after Vellore jail officials assured that her plea would be considered as per law.

Nalini broke her fast today morning after the prison officials prevailed upon her to do so and assured her that her plea would be considered as per law, according to jail authorities. Nalini's husband Murugan, another convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, is also lodged in the Vellore prison. On September 11, Nalini, who has been imprisoned for over 18 years, filed a petition in the Madras High Court, seeking her premature release.

She said she was required to serve 14 years of imprisonment to be entitled for premature release under Section 433(a) of the CrPC, which she completed on June 18, 2005. In her petition, Nalini contended that the governor had allowed her clemency petition and the state government, by an April 24, 2000 order, had commuted her death penalty to life imprisonment.

In her petition, she had sought a direction to the government to constitute an advisory board in accordance with the law and take a decision on her premature release in the light of the high court's order. She had sought her immediate release, pending disposal of her petition in the court.