The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to list for early hearing the Centre’s plea challenging a Delhi High Court direction ordering the premature release of Rashid Khan, a life convict under TADA and the mastermind of the 1993 Bowbazar bomb blast in Calcutta, which killed 69 people and injured many others.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohan allowed the Centre’s request for an urgent listing.
When the chief justice asked how long Khan had been in custody, the Centre’s counsel said he had spent more than 30 years in jail. The bench agreed to list the matter for hearing at an early date, though no specific date was fixed.
The appeal challenges a June 5 order of Delhi High Court, in which Justice Neena Bansal Krishna directed Khan’s premature release, taking into account his 33 years in prison, advanced age, health conditions and satisfactory conduct.
The court also referred to several judicial precedents, including Supreme Court rulings, emphasising the need to balance reformative and retributive considerations while deciding premature release pleas.
A special TADA court in 2001 had convicted Khan and four others in the 1993 Bowbazar case, which occurred at his workshop where explosives were stored. Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment under TADA, the Arms Act and the IPC. The Supreme Court later upheld the convictions.
While allowing his release plea, the high court set aside the State Sentence Review Board’s decision communicated through an order dated August 8, 2018, which had rejected his request for premature release.
Khan has also sought remission from the Centre, stating he has been in custody since March 3, 1993. He is now 77 years old and suffers from multiple age-related ailments. He further pointed out that co-convict Pannalal Jaysoara had already been released under a 2014 government notification.