Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has overturned the State Sentence Review Board’s decision to deny early release to Nafiyaj Shaikh Mamlekar, who is serving a life term in the 2006 Mandar Surlakar murder case. The court directed the Board to reconsider the application in line with legal guidelines.
Mamlekar, along with three others, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Children’s Court in 2014 for kidnapping, murdering, and burning a teenage boy. The conviction, which included charges of conspiracy and destruction of evidence, was upheld by the High Court in 2019.
In his petition, Mamlekar argued that the Review Board, at its December 4, 2024 meeting, had rejected his case solely on account of the severity of the crime, without evaluating his behaviour in prison or efforts towards rehabilitation.
His counsel, Advocate Sahil Sardessai, pointed out that both the North Goa District Magistrate and the Probation Officer had recommended his release. Reports from the Jail Superintendent also described him as disciplined and cooperative.
During nearly 19 years of incarceration, Mamlekar completed academic and vocational courses, participated in art exhibitions, and carried out various prison duties.
Despite this, the Board relied heavily on objections raised by the Inspector General of Prisons, which cited the brutality of the crime, as well as opposition expressed by the victim’s father, and postponed Mamlekar’s case for another year.
Additional Public Prosecutor Pravin Faldessai contended that while the government retains discretion over sentence remission, judicial review is warranted when such decisions appear arbitrary.
The Division Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Nivedita Mehta observed that the Board had overlooked mandatory criteria under Rule 403 of the Goa Prisons Rules, 2006, which require consideration of a prisoner’s conduct, reformation prospects, and recommendations from correctional authorities.
The judges also remarked that the Board seemed influenced by the victim’s family’s objections, despite positive reports from jail authorities and the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour, which had found Mamlekar emotionally stable with adequate stress tolerance.
The court quashed the earlier decision and directed that Mamlekar’s application be reassessed at the Board’s next sitting.
