The Supreme Court on October 12 dismissed a plea filed by Mohammed Asgar Ali, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya, seeking premature release from prison. The decision came after the Gujarat government informed the Court that it had rejected Ali’s remission plea.
A Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh declined to continue entertaining the matter, observing that Ali could challenge the State government’s decision before the jurisdictional High Court.
The Court clarified that Ali was at liberty to approach the High Court against the rejection of his remission application.
Haren Pandya was shot dead on March 26, 2003, while on a morning walk near Law Garden in Ahmedabad. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the murder was committed to avenge the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat.
In June 2007, a trial court convicted 12 persons in connection with Pandya’s murder. However, in 2011, the Gujarat High Court acquitted all the accused, describing the investigation as “botched” and “misdirected”.
In 2019, the Supreme Court restored the convictions and sentences of the accused, overturning the High Court’s acquittal in the murder case.
In July this year, the Gujarat High Court directed the State government to decide Ali’s remission plea within six months. However, after the State government rejected his application, Ali approached the Supreme Court seeking premature release.
With the State having rejected his remission plea, the Supreme Court declined to proceed further with his petition, leaving him free to challenge the decision before the High Court.
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