Tamil Nadu

Release of convicts not new, says Karunanidhi

M. Karunanidhi

CHENNAI: There is nothing new in convicts being released on the occasion of birthdays of leaders, including former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai, said Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Tuesday.

Each year, similar decisions were taken, even when the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was in power. “When Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister, coinciding with her birthday, convicts were released,” he said, adding that at that time, the Left parties did not protest.

As a general rule, convicts who have completed 10 years in prison are released. Coinciding with the Anna birth centenary, the government decided to relax this to seven years. The government is well within its rights to take such a decision with the consent of the Governor, he said.

The contention of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was how some persons involved in a murder case in Madurai could be released.

Dwelling into the history of the murder, Mr. Karunanidhi said CPI (M) councillor Leelavathi was murdered when the DMK was in power the last time. Some DMK men were the accused.

Though the accused were from the DMK, the government did not protect them.

When the CPI (M) alleged that the accused would not be punished since they were from the DMK, the DMK government appointed a public prosecutor of the CPI (M)’s choice. After a trial the accused were sentenced.

When Mr. Karunanidhi visited Madurai later, he insisted on visiting Leelavathi’s house, though the police and intelligence strongly advised him not to. He recalled that he was received well by her husband, who even accepted the solatium offered by the government.

He later gave it back saying the party had barred him from taking the money.

Mr. Karunanidhi said that the CPI (M) had said that those convicted in that murder had been released. The fact was that of the six convicted in that case, one person died in prison in 2004. A second person was released from prison after serving 10 years.

Of the four others, two had completed 10 years in prison. One of them had completed nine years, but was not released as he was involved in a minor transgression of parole norms. Even though he was acquitted of this charge subsequently, he was not considered for release.

He said only one of the released had completed just over seven years in prison. He was among the 356 convicts, who had served just over seven years. None of the total 1,405 convicts releasedhad been set free after completing one year in prison.

Only after the convicts completed seven years were they considered for release.

The Chief Minister said CPI (M) state secretary N. Varadarajan, in his letter, had said that prisoners who had committed political murders should not be released. But, the 1987 government order on this issue says those jailed for rape, impersonation, dacoity, terrorist acts, economic offences, smugglers and black marketers, those involved in corruption cases and those convicted for food adulteration should not be released.

This order formed the basis for selecting convicts for release, Mr. Karunanidhi said.

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