HC: EMERGENCY PAROLE CAN’T BE TAKEN AS PART OF SENTENCE

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by a murder convict seeking direction to the state government to count his Covid emergency parole leave as part of his sentence while considering his case for premature release.

The division bench of justice SS Shinde and justice Manish Pitale dismissed the petition filed by Inden aka Mohiddin Sayyed Ali Shaikh, holding that in view of Rule 20 of the Prison (Bombay Parole and Furlough) Rules, 2020 parole leave cannot be counted as sentence undergone by a convict. Shaikh had moved the HC in December 2020 to include his parole leave in the sentence undergone by him. He was arrested on murder charges on November 8, 2002 and was subsequently convicted for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. HC has since dismissed his appeal against conviction in 2011 and confined his life term.

On February 22, 2018, the home department decided Shaikh’s plea for premature release, declaring that the Ambernath resident will have to undergo total imprisonment of 26 years, including remission.

It was submitted before HC on his behalf that Shaikh would have completed the 26-year term in November 2020, but he was released on emergency Covid parole leave on May 10, 2020 and what remains now was a meagre term of five months. He therefore urged the HC to direct the authorities to include his emergency parole in the sentence.

Jail authorities opposed his plea contending that Rule 20 of the Prisons (Bombay Furlough and Parole) Rules, 2020 states parole is not an incentive, and thus shall not be counted towards remission of sentence.

Besides, jail authorities also pointed out that after being released from jail in May 2020, Shaikh has joined a political party, creating tense atmosphere in Ambernath and had also failed to abide by a parole leave condition to report to local police station once a month.