105, not out? SC orders release of murder convict
The Supreme Court of India has ordered the permanent release of a 105-year-old murder convict, Rasik Mandal, citing his advanced age and health. Mandal had been incarcerated since 1988 and spent decades appealing his conviction before the court intervened.
Why it matters
The case highlights judicial discretion regarding the incarceration of elderly prisoners and the balance between justice and humanitarian considerations.
Born in 1920 when Congress had launched the non-cooperation movement against the British, Rasik Mandal got his freedom as a 105-year-old life convict Friday after SC ordered the centenarian should spend his remaining days with his family. He was convicted in 1994 for a 1988 murder. On Friday, the bench first asked: "Is he alive? Why should he not be released permanently? Why should he be on interim parole?"Born in a nondescript village of Malda district, Rasik Chandra was arrested in 1988 for murder at the age of 68, and convicted in Dec 1994.His appeal against conviction was dismissed by Calcutta HC in 2018, after 24 years, and Supreme Court rejected his appeal in 2019.Serving a life sentence, he was shifted to a correctional home at Balurghat in West Bengal from prison due to age-related ailments.
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