Gujarat HC extends parole of man serving life term in murder case for IVF treatment

In its order issued on October 28, the HC had considered the submission and said, “…the IVF treatment of the wife of the applicant, who is also on parole leave up to November 2, 2025, is going on and is required to visit the gynaecologist and therefore, the applicant by way of present application has requested to extend his parole leave till November 2… (The petition) is partly allowed and the parole leave period granted earlier is extended up to November 2 on the same terms and conditions..”

The court order adds that the applicant shall surrender before the jail authority concerned, immediately after the parole period is over and “no further extension shall be granted.” The couple had sought parole earlier in October, on the grounds that they had completed over 15 years in prison and wished to have a child through IVF due to infertility issues.

This is not the first time that the couple, arrested in September 2010 for the murder, have applied for parole to undergo IVF treatment. Earlier, in January 2023, the Gujarat HC had granted parole to the couple and extended the parole until March, 2023, considering the medical certificate issued by a local hospital that the couple was undergoing treatment for infertility. The couple had then said in the petition that they have completed a sentence of over 11 years. The district police, however, on an earlier occasion, objected to the couple being released on parole.

Police in Panchmahal district, where the case is lodged as well as Dahod district, where the two reside, said they were “unaware” when the couple tied the knot following their arrest in the case in 2010.

The case

The accused, Sejal Bariya and Jayendra Damor, were convicted in June 2013 by the Additional Sessions Court in Godhra for the September 2010 murder of Bariya’s former lover, Pinakin Patel, who she lured into a hotel in Pavagadh, where Jayendra was hiding in another room booked by him, as per the the case of the prosecution. The prosecution’s case was that Sejal had sent Pinakin out of the room and helped Jayendra sneak into the room and hide. When Pinakin had returned later, Sejal held Pinakin while Jayendra inflicted the first blow on his head with a hammer. The prosecution had also informed the trial court that both accused had taken turns to hammer Pinakin on his head and even forced him to consume a poisonous substance. Thereafter, the accused also strangulated Pinakin with a dupatta.

The crime was discovered by the hotel staff although Sejal had managed to escape at night and Jayendra had stayed in the hotel for the night and checked out early the next morning.

The trial court, after considering the evidence, had convicted the two to life imprisonment in June 2013. The Gujarat High Court in 2022 had rejected the appeals filed by the accused challenging their sentencing.