Mumbai: The Mumbai HC noted that the long-term detention of the offender violated his fundamental right to a swift trial and was equated with a “pre-trial punishment”, and the Mumbai HC has granted Tariq Parveen, an aide to Dawood Ibrahim of a close prison who has been in jail for five years.
The High Court considered the incompleteness of long imprisonment and trials for the foreseeable future and observed that the criminal jurisprudence rules “the defendant is innocent until proven guilty” cannot be easily carried out.
Parveen, arrested in a 2020 ransom case, was released from Taloha Prison in Navai Mumbai on Wednesday.
Milind Jadhav pointed out in his May 8 order,
The substitute said Parvin had been in jail for five years and had no trial ended in the near foreseeable future.
“Detention of a prisoner for such a long period further violated his fundamental right to a quick trial flowing from Article 21 of the Constitution,” the court said.
The bench said that a long-term detention of a non-trial person in prison could only allow the untrial person to grant the person a “replacement punishment”, which constitutes a pre-trial punishment.
Parveen sought bail in a ransom case registered with him under the Indian Penal Code and Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), citing long imprisonment and incomplete trials for the foreseeable future.
Justice Jadav said, “The defendant is innocent until proven guilty” is the main rule of criminal law.
“This rule cannot be easily adopted, especially when the defendant’s freedom endangers more than five years,” the bench said.
The High Court further stated that after a sufficient assessment of the evidence, Parwin’s accomplice in the crime could certainly prove it. If convicted, he will face appropriate punishment.
Judge Jadav said: “At this ostensible stage, I tend to consider the applicant’s bail application, only because of his long imprisonment awaiting trial plus parity.”
The court granted bail with a guarantor of Rs 25,000.
