Convict & witness faiths no reason to deny furlough, says Bombay high court – Times of India

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has held that refusing to grant furlough to a convict only on the grounds that the witnesses and he belonged to different religions, without any material to back up the claims of a possible law and order situation, needs to be deprecated. The high court has set aside a 2020 order rejecting furlough to a convict, Salman Bagwan (24), and said that he is entitled to be released on the leave for the maximum period as provided under the rules.
“Mere fact that the petitioner (Bagwan) and the witnesses belong to different religions cannot be a ground to presume that this will lead to law and order situation. Such a stand unless backed by some material, needs to be deprecated. Therefore this reason being only foundation of the impugned order and it being arrived at without basis whatsoever, the impugned order will have to be set aside,” the high court said. Bagwan was convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by a sessions court in Shrirampur, Ahmednagar, in April 2018. Along with several others, he was found guilty of grievously injuring a man from a rival group in 2016. Bagwan is lodged in Yerwada Central prison, Pune.
Bagwan’s lawyer Tanveer Khan submitted the petition challenging the March 17 order of the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons rejecting his application for release on furlough leave. “The objective of furlough is to enable a convict to maintain ties with society and give him a chance to reform himself. If furlough is denied mechanically to a convict who is eligible for it, the purpose of furlough and reforming criminals would become otiose,” Khan said.
When Bagwan became eligible for furlough, he made the application to the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons for furlough as per the Maharashtra Prisons (Bombay Furlough and Parole) Rules. A report was filed by the Divisional Police Officer, Shrirampur, and his plea was subsequently rejected. In August 2020, the Additional Director General of Police and Inspector General, Prisons, too denied his plea.
The HC noted the only reason given in the order for rejection is that the witness is of a particular religion and Bagwan belongs to the other religion, therefore, there is likelihood of a law and order situation as per the police report. The police report submitted by the head constable, Shrirampur, to the sub-divisional police officer, reiterated the statement. HC said, “Apart from this statement alone there is nothing either on record or in the file shown to us.” It directed the relevant authority to issue a formal order.