Observing that the condition imposed by the prison authorities was "onerous" the Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted five days emergency parole leave to a convict in the Mumbai Blast Case, to attend the last rituals of his mother, who died in December 2021. The HC struck down the condition imposed by the jail authorities asking him to pay over Rs 1 lakh to bear the cost of police escort and has instead asked him to report to the city's Pydhonie police station twice a day.
A bench of Justices Prasanna Varale and Anil Kilor was hearing a plea filed by Mohammad Mushtaq Moosa Tarani, a convict in the 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blast case, whose death penalty was reduced to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court in 2013.
Tarani had challenged the orders passed by the Superintendent of Yerwada Central Prison, Pune, on January 12, 2022, granting him five days emergency parole.
According to Tarani, his mother died on December 22, 2021, and on the same day he had made an application before the prison authorities to grant him emergency parole to attend the 40th-day rituals of his mother, which was scheduled on January 30, 2022.
The superintendent after considering the report submitted by Pydhonie police allowed his release on emergency parole but with a rider. It ordered Tarani to bear the costs of the police escort team, which would accompany him throughout his stay outside the prison.
Notably, the Pydhonie police station had in it's report highlighted the fact that Tarani's brother, who had stood surety for his release, wasn't a permanent resident of Mumbai and was in fact living in a rented house.
The jail superintendent even referred to a recent incident in Uttar Pradesh, wherein a convict, who was let out on parole to attend his daughter's marriage, absconded.
"As such, the authorities, by way of extra caution and care, are imposing the condition of police escort so as to avoid the instances of misusing the liberty," prosecutor M H Mhatre argued.
The bench noted that as per the condition five police personnel were to escort Tarani. "Thus, escort team charges, vehicle charges, halting charges for a day are quantified @ Rs.29000. Thus, for the period of five days, he may have to bear expenses roughly amounting to Rs.1,50,000/-," the bench noted.
The judges further considered the submissions made by advocate Farhana Shah, appearing for Tarani that the expenditure for the escort team is exorbitant. She highlighted the fact that her client has been in jail for more than 28 years and nine months.
"It would be impossible for my client to make arrangement of an amount towards escort expenses and failure on his part to do so, would result in depriving him to attend the last rituals of his mother and resultantly though there would be an order in his favour on paper, in reality, he would not be availing that relief of release," Shah argued.
"We think Shah is justified in submitting before this Court that putting an onerous condition or imposing exorbitant condition would frustrate the object of the Prisons (Bombay Furlough and Parole) Rules, 1959," the bench said while striking down the condition of bearing costs of escorts.
