A division bench of Justices Mangesh Patil and Abhay Waghwase dismissed the plea filed by Sardar Khan, who had questioned the decision of the Inspector General of Prison.
The authority, by an order passed on February 4, had held that since Khan is above 65 years of age and also a convict in the blast case, he is not entitled to be shifted to an open prison as provided under the Maharashtra Open Prison Rules, 1971.
The bench noted that the rules confer discretionary powers on the Inspector General which need to be exercised cautiously.
“Bearing in mind such principles if we examine, the impugned order, it inter alia mentions that the petitioner is a convict of Mumbai Bomb Blast 1993 case as one of the reasons. Though it has not been specifically categorized in any other clauses of Rule 4, this ground, in our considered view, can certainly fit in the residuary 4(ii)(n). We see no reason to observe that this ground purportedly resorted to by the Inspector General of Prisons is arbitrary or capricious,” the bench held.
In our considered view, the convicts under special statutes like TADA would fall in the categories mentioned in sub Rule (ii) of Rule 4, the bench held.
Source: Barandbench
