Canada's National Parole Board has denied early release to Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only person convicted in connection with the bombing of Air India Flight 182.

The decision means he will have to stay in prison for two more years.

After several hours of interrogating Reyat, the three-member panel concluded he was evasive, lacked credibility and consistently minimized his role in the bombing. They said they never believed Reyat's contention he was a bit player and took barely 15 minutes to render their decision.

Inderjit Singh Reyat (CP file photo)

In 2003, Reyat pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter for his role in acquiring materials to build the bomb that killed 329 people on board the 1985 flight.

The Air India flight plunged into the sea off Ireland on June 23, 1985, after the bomb exploded.

Reyat is serving a five-year sentence at Collins Bay Institution in Kingston, Ont., and is up for statutory release in June, two years before the end of his sentence.

RCMP officials spent most of Friday presenting their case to the parole board, arguing that Reyat should not be released.

Several dozen people who lost family members in the 1985 tragedy were also at the hearing, arguing Reyat should remain behind bars until the end of his sentence in 2008.

Some choked back tears and sobs as the proceedings continued.

"Mr. Reyat can be the best prisoner in the whole world," said Perviz Madon, whose husband was killed in the explosion. "That does not take away that he knew what he was doing for his cause. And so to me he could be the best behaved guy in that prison, [that] means nothing to me."

Deepak Khandewal, who lost two sisters in the bombing, described Reyat as a "ticking time bomb waiting to be used by the next group of terrorists."

Reyat never looked at the family members and sometimes shook his head during the hearing. He broke down at one point after being questioned about whether he felt any remorse.

He said that he prayed for the families who died as a result of his actions and that he will be eternally guilty.

His lawyer, John Hill, said a forensic psychiatrist has concluded Reyat is not at risk of reoffending. Hill has argued his client is a "model prisoner."

Corrections officials have also opposed Reyat's release and contend he has the ability to deceive his supervisors.