Premature release rules not same for terror convicts: HC

Justices Abhay Oka and S P Davare observed,“…the drastic nature of the offence involved has been taken into consideration by the state government in as much as the offence in the present case involved bomb blasts at 12 different important places in the city of Mumbai on the same day in which 645 people were injured and 232 people died.”

On June 8,2007,a special court had held Shaikh guilty under the provisions of the stringent Terrorism And Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA),1987,for his involvement in the conspiracy that led to the blasts across Mumbai on March 12,1993.

Shaikh had challenged an order of the state government passed on September 4,2009,under which it had remitted the sentence of life imprisonment in excess of 60 years of total imprisonment,including all remissions after the completion of actual imprisonment of 14 years,and subject to Shaikh’s good conduct in prison till the time of his release.

He had contended that under the state government’s guidelines of November 16,1978,the period of imprisonment for murder was prescribed between 16-24 years with remissions. According to Shaikh,the offence that he was convicted for was not murder and hence he should qualify for premature release after serving less than 16 years in jail.

The government,however,informed the court that there were no guidelines framed for premature release of a person convicted under special Acts like TADA,POTA and MCOCA. New guidelines were framed on March 15,2010.

Turning down Shaikh’s plea for premature release,the court said only because the guidelines for release may have been applied in a separate case under TADA,Shaikh would not be entitled to seek the benefit. “The case of the petitioner stands on a different footing and hence,there is no question of discrimination,” the court inferred.