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Kapoor, serving a life sentence, had sought parole for four weeks, citing the need to maintain social ties with his family and to undergo knee surgery
The Delhi High Court has rejected the parole plea of Ravi Kapoor, convicted for the murders of journalist Soumya Vishwanathan and IT executive Jigisha Ghosh, citing the severity of the offences committed by him.
The bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, while considering Kapoor's criminal history and his overall conduct in jail, deemed it unsatisfactory, with 41 major punishments awarded to him.
"Taking into account the criminal history of the petitioner, the facts of the case in which the petitioner has been convicted, the gravity of the offence committed by him, and his overall conduct inside the jail premises, this court is not inclined to grant parole to the petitioner at this stage. Accordingly, the present petition stands dismissed," Justice Sharma said.
Kapoor, serving a life sentence, had sought parole for four weeks, citing the need to maintain social ties with his family and to undergo knee surgery.
Initially sentenced to death in 2016 for Jigisha Ghosh's murder, the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court. Kapoor was also convicted in the 2008 Soumya Vishwanathan murder case, receiving a life term in 2023.
The Delhi government's standing counsel, Sanjay Lao, opposed the parole plea, arguing that the competent authority rightfully rejected it due to the seriousness of Kapoor's offenses and the multiple pending cases against him.
The court, while acknowledging the importance of respecting convicts' rights and granting parole for maintaining social and family ties, emphasized the need to balance the public interest. Justice Sharma noted Kapoor's habitual criminality, involving about 20 cases between 2002 and 2010, and convictions for murder and robbery.
Despite satisfactory jail conduct in recent years, the court highlighted Kapoor's overall unsatisfactory behavior, resulting in 41 major punishments.
Jigisha Ghosh, 28, was kidnapped and killed in 2009, while Soumya Vishwanathan, a journalist, was murdered in 2008. The court, while dismissing Kapoor's plea, emphasized the need to consider counterbalancing public interest in parole decisions.
Case Title: Ravi Kapoor v. State of NCT of Delhi
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