New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) Delhi Police Monday told the Delhi High Court that the pending parole pleas of under-trials lodged in various jails of the capital were being expeditiously disposed of, and only ten more were left now.
Filing a fresh status report, Delhi Police counsel Meera Bhatia informed Justice Kailash Gambhir that of the 98 pending pleas, 88 have been disposed of and only 10 are left to be decided.

The court then asked the Delhi Police Commissioner and the principal secretary (Home) to file affidavits by Wednesday, the next date of hearing.

Earlier, the court said the parole applications moved by the convicts should be given due priority and these should be decided within a period of ten days. “But it appears that the directions given by this court are being implemented more in violation than in compliance,” it observed.

The court was hearing the plea of former constable Sumer Singh, who is undergoing life imprisonment for his involvement in the Connaught Place shoot-out case in which two businessmen were shot dead by a police squad after being mistaken as gangsters of Uttar Pradesh. Sumer Singh has sought three months’ parole for arranging funds for filing an appeal in the apex court challenging his conviction.

Singh pleaded he has to arrange everything himself as no one in his family is educated enough to arrange for legal help.

As per law, a prisoner can get parole for various reasons - to visit a dying or sick family member, building a house or to repair a badly damaged home, among others.

The official process on a parole application starts with its verification by police and the plea to be finally cleared, in case of Delhi, by the lieutenant-governor.