ABBAMOHAMMAD ALI SHAHADI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner seeks direction to respondent no. 1/ state to reconsider his case for premature release from the prison.

(2.) Amongst several other offences, the petitioner was convicted for the offence under Section 3 (2) (ii) of the TADA Act, 1987 and was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life by the Designated Court for Greater bombay, in TADA Special Case No. 2 of 1989 in February, 1993. The allegations against the petitioner were that on 25-3-1988 around 01. 45 hrs. when the crew members of Alitalia Airlines who had arrived from Singapore to Bombay by flight No. 1361 were boarding luxury coach at sahar International Airport, Bombay, the petitioner entered the coach armed with submachine pistol and hand grenades. The petitioner lobbed the hand grenades in the coach and fired with the sub-machine pistol at the crew members and the driver of the coach. The police sub-inspector, who was on duty, apprehended the petitioner. The petitioner was prosecuted and convicted as stated earlier. The appeal preferred by the petitioner to the Supreme Court was dismissed.

(3.) The petitioner is the Lebanon national and is Palestine. Since the date of his arrest he is in jail. The petitioner never obtained parole. He has actually undergone imprisonment for more than fourteen years. By communication dated 5th August, 2002, the petitioner was informed that the Government of Maharashtra came to the conclusion that the case of the petitioner falls under Category No. 8-A of the guidelines dated 11-5-1992. The Government of maharashtra remitted that portion of the sentence of imprisonment for life which is in excess of 30 years of total imprisonment including all remissions. According to the petitioner, the life imprisonment should have been remitted to 24 years including all remissions as per the guidelines dated 16-11-1978. He, therefore, seeks reconsideration of the decision for his premature release from the prison.