The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday granted two weeks’ parole to Ravichandran, who is serving a life sentence for plotting to assassinate former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

He has been in prison for 26 years and has been released on parole three times before.

In his petition, Ravichandran had asked to be released on parole for a month to help his aged mother resolve property problems in Tamil Nadu, the Deccan Chronicle reported.

At the previous hearing, the police had objected to his parole plea, saying they would find it difficult to provide security. Since Ravichandran was involved in the murder of a former prime minister, granting him parole may pose risks to his life, the police had said.