Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Mahanand Naik, the convicted serial killer, has petitioned the Bombay High Court in Goa to overturn the Sentence Review Board’s decision to deny him an early release, arguing that it fell short of 14 years of genuine incarceration.
In addition, Naik requested the High Court’s help in contesting Sessions Court’s ruling that barred him from deferring his sentence. He has specifically challenged the Sessions Court’s conclusions that, as a result of his 2009 rape conviction, he is not eligible for any set-off payments.
In its October 4, 2024, judgment, the Sentence Review Board noted that Naik had only served 13 years and 10 days of actual incarceration and did not fulfill the conditions for premature release under Section 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The Goa administration has received a notice from the High Court for a response to the petition.
After the sole survivor, whose evidence was crucial to Naik’s conviction, voiced worries about her safety last year, Naik’s furlough release caused controversy. Until Naik went back to jail, she requested police protection for her and her family. However, Naik fulfilled his 21-day vacation and made his mandatory return to jail.
Since he is legally separated from his wife, who now lives in Mumbai with their little daughter, Naik spent the furlough at the St. Xavier Academy for the Handicapped in Old Goa.
Naik was accused of raping another girl and killing roughly 15 young women between 1994 and 2009.
