HC refuses to interfere in decision of high power committee on releasing prisoners on bail

The Bombay high court on Tuesday refused to interfere in the March 25 decision of the high power committee set up to decide on releasing prisoners on temporary bail and parole based on the directions of the Supreme Court to decongest jails to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The HC has directed one of the four petitioners who had challenged the classification of prisoners by the HPC to file a fresh petition which would include the outcome of a May 11 representation by the petitioner before the HPC.

HT Image

A division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice SS Shinde while hearing the petitions filed by four persons, incarcerated for various crimes under special enactments sought setting aside the March 25 decision of the HPC to not extend the benefit of interim bail or parole to persons booked under special acts. The petitioners had claimed that as the decision of HPC was discriminatory it should be set aside and persons punished or awaiting trial for crimes under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act (MPID), Unlawful Activist Prevention Act (UAPA) and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) should also be given interim bail or parole.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, on March 23 the Supreme Court had issued directives to decongest jails and directed state HPCs to decide on which prisoners or undertrials could be released.

On Tuesday, when the four petitions came up for hearing the court was informed by senior advocate Satish Talekar that on May 11 the HPC while hearing a representation had refused to budge from its March 25 decision to not allow persons booked under special acts to be given interim bail or parole. Talekar said that even though some of the crimes under the special acts had a punishment in the form of paying a minimal fine, the accused were being denied interim bail/parole. The bench, however, said that it was not inclined to interfere with the HPC decision and disposed of the petition with a liberty to the petitioners to file a fresh petition by including May 11 decision of the HPC.

Similarly in the petition filed by Humayun Merchant, an aide of former don Iqbal Mirchi through advocate Dr Sujay Kantawala, the court was informed that Merchant was booked under the PMLA Act. He had filed bail applications in both the sessions court and high court and had also challenged the March 25 decision of the HPC in the high court. After hearing the submissions the court held that he could not pursue a similar cause in different courts and dismissed his petition with the liberty to pursue bail proceedings in one of the courts.