The Bombay high court has allowed a convict to be released on parole to look after his ailing wife pointing out that his brother cannot do that.
The Bombay high court has allowed a convict to be released on parole to look after his ailing wife pointing out that his brother cannot do that.
A division bench of justices PV Hardas and AV Potdar of the Aurangabad bench on November 15 quashed and set aside an order dated August 31 passed by the divisional commissioner of Aurangabad, rejecting the application of Asif Shaikh (name changed).
The rejection was on the twin grounds that he may breach peace and also that the petitioner’s brother was available for looking after the petitioner’s wife. “After his application was rejected, Shaikh sent a letter to the court through jail, which was converted in a criminal writ petition.
Shaikh, lodged at the Harsul Central Jail, was convicted in 1991 and till 2006 was out on bail. According to his application, his wife is suffering from severe anaemia with vaginal bleeding. The medical officer referred her to the Government Medical College, Gynaecology Department, saying she may need an operation and proper hospitalisation with blood transfusion. Shaikh, on the basis of the medical certificate, applied to the authorities to release him on parole but it was rejected.
However, the authorities acknowledged that his wife is suffering from some ailment of the abdomen but stated that no date for surgical intervention is fixed.
Shaikh’s legal aid Anita Gadekar argued that he was on bail till 2006 and even the authorities’ affidavit does not say that he threatened either the prosecution witnesses or the complainant or had committed any breach of peace at any time. She said as his wife is suffering from a serious ailment the petitioner is entitled to apply for his release on parole.
In their order, the judges noted that the apprehension that Shaikh is likely to commit breach of peace is not based on factual data as there are no instances supported and hence this cannot be a ground for rejecting his application.
“With respect to the second ground, we find that the wife of the petitioner is indeed suffering from a serious ailment. In such circumstances, the brother of the petitioner will not be in a position to look after the wife,” the judges noted. They added that for the aforesaid reasons Shaikh’s application ought to be allowed.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}