Story perspectives

Gangster Dhilla Gets 12-Hour Parole to Marry

By Drooid · Sep 29, 2026, 4:19 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Mainpal Dhilla Marries

Mainpal Dhilla received a 12-hour custody parole to marry Meta Chan.
He was escorted from prison to a Jhajjar farmhouse under tight security.
After the ceremony, Dhilla was returned to jail the same day.
Cambodian authorities handed him over to India after his July 2025 arrest.
He fled India on August 29, 2018 using the alias Sonu Kumar after a six-week parole.

Summary

Punjab Suspends Plan

Delhi Prison Rules (2018) mandate supervised spouse meetings, prohibiting private conjugal visits.
A late-2023 Delhi conjugal-visit proposal stalled in 2024 after Punjab suspended its plan.
Officials blame overcrowding and limited infrastructure for being unable to offer private conjugal visits.
Tihar Jail processes over 1,200 daily visitations, highlighting logistical hurdles for expanded family-contact programs.
Parole-related court orders making gangsters pay security costs have revived debate on prisoners’ conjugal rights.

History

Historical Context

In 1978 the Supreme Court in Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration held that prisoners’ right to life includes conjugal visitation, ordering Delhi to build dedicated conjugal cells. The ruling built on earlier rights expansions in R.C. Cooper (1970) and Maneka Gandhi (1978). A 12-hour parole for marriage granted to Mainpal Dhilla and the stalled 2023-24 Delhi proposal show the same security-family rights clash persists.

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Mainpal Dhilla Marries

Mainpal Dhilla received a 12-hour custody parole to marry Meta Chan.
He was escorted from prison to a Jhajjar farmhouse under tight security.
After the ceremony, Dhilla was returned to jail the same day.
Cambodian authorities handed him over to India after his July 2025 arrest.
He fled India on August 29, 2018 using the alias Sonu Kumar after a six-week parole.

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