Mumbai, May 22: The Bombay High Court recently granted 25 days’ parole to a man convicted under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act so that he could construct a new house after his earlier home was demolished for the Navi Mumbai International Airport project.
Court notes demolition of house
A bench of Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Justice Nivedita Mehta at the Nagpur bench noted that convict Pradeep Gaikwad had already spent more than nine years in jail. The court also took note of the fact that his house was demolished after the state acquired the land, but he had still not received compensation.
“Even the respondent authorities do not dispute that the house of the petitioner is already demolished in a process of acquisition,” the bench observed. The judges further noted that although the issue of compensation was separate, Gaikwad now wanted to construct a house at a new place for his family.
The court said the records showed that Gaikwad and his mother were residing in the demolished house. It also considered his submission that his son was unwell and required attention. “Moreover, there is no complaint of misconduct when he was earlier released on parole,” the judges added.
Sentence reduced by High Court
In 2019, Gaikwad was convicted by a Panvel court in Navi Mumbai under provisions of the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code and was initially sentenced to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment. However, while hearing his appeal, the High Court later reduced the sentence to 10 years.
The bench further noted that since 2021, Gaikwad had filed several petitions seeking parole, but authorities had rejected or failed to consider them. He was finally granted parole in 2024 for 40 days only after intervention by the High Court.
“Considering the earlier history of the petitioner… he was constrained to run from pillar to post on many occasions, the petition deserves to be allowed,” the court observed.
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Parole granted with conditions
The bench granted him parole for 25 days on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with one surety of the same amount and directed him to surrender before the due date to serve the remaining sentence.
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