"Like Capital Punishment": Supreme Court On Man, 96, Serving Life Sentence

The Supreme Court favoured remission to an ailing 96-year-old convict serving life term in the 1993 Rajasthan train blast case and currently on parole, saying continued incarceration is "like capital punishment".

Habib Ahmed Khan moved the top court seeking permanent parole given his deteriorating health and age, and a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan asked the Rajasthan government to consider his case from the human rights angle.

His counsel said he has been in jail for over 27 years after which he was granted parole thrice. The third parole is being now extended by this court from time to time.

The bench, which perused Mr Khan's medical reports, asked what purpose will be served by his incarceration at this point.

"Just see his medical report. Where will he go? It's the worst. Yes, he was convicted for a terror offence but he was not awarded capital punishment. Continued incarceration for him is like capital punishment," the bench told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikramjeet Banerjee, appearing for the Rajasthan government.

The bench asked Mr Banerjee to consider his remission and see the case from a human rights angle.

The ASG submitted that for remission, the convict has to make an application to the state government but in this case, his conviction for terror offence would be a hindrance.

Then what is Article 21 in the Constitution for, Justice Oka asked, adding that Mr Khan can neither walk nor see properly according to his medical reports.

Justice Bhuyan said that at 96, Mr Khan is just counting his days and the law cannot be so insensitive.

"The court has all the powers in the world and if it were to use the power under Article 142 of the Constitution for remission, then I would urge not to do so. Because remission can only be granted by the state government," the ASG said.

"Not all the powers in the world but all the powers under the Constitution. Ultimately, there has to be some balance," Justice Oka replied.

The bench asked Mr Banerjee to seek instruction on whether Habib Ahmed Khan could be granted remission or permanent parole and listed the matter for hearing after two weeks.

Habib Ahmed Khan was arrested in 1994 in connection with a series of train blasts in 1993 and was convicted in 2004 by the Ajmer trial court along with 14 others under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). His conviction and life sentence were upheld by the Supreme Court in 2016 and he was lodged in Jaipur jail before being granted parole in 2021 by the top court.

In August 2018, the Rajasthan High Court granted him parole for the first time for 20 days while taking into consideration his age and that a co-accused in the same case, Asfaq Khan, was granted parole.

Mr Khan was again granted parole for 20 days in 2020 with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

He was granted the third parole in February 2021 by the High Court for three weeks, which was being extended by the Supreme Court so far due to his deteriorating health.

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