The Delhi High Court dismissed a plea by terror convict Nasir Mohd Sodozey, jailed for over 26 years, seeking early release. The court said his crime was of the “gravest order,” striking at the State’s security.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has refused to allow the early release of a man who was found guilty of being part of a terror conspiracy involving the kidnapping of four foreign nationals. The court said his crime was extremely serious and a direct attack on the security of the country.
The convict, Nasir Mohd Sodozey alias Aftaab Ahmed, had filed a plea seeking release from prison, arguing that he had already spent more than 26 years behind bars.
However, the high court observed that there was no fault in the earlier decision of the Sentence Review Board (SRB), which had on June 30, 2023, rejected his request.
The court noted,
“there was no infirmity in the June 30, 2023, decision of the Sentence Review Board (SRB) to reject lifer Nasir Mohd Sodozey alias Aftaab Ahmed’s plea seeking an early release from jail on the ground that he has undergone incarceration for over 26 years.”
While acknowledging that long imprisonment can be considered by authorities, the court stressed that such factors cannot outweigh public safety and national interest.
It stated,
“prolonged incarceration is a relevant factor and the reviewing authority must weigh it, but it cannot prevail over the larger interests of society where the underlying crime was designed to destabilise the State and spread fear among its citizens and international visitors.”
Sodozey was convicted in 2002 under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and the Foreigners Act.
His actions were carried out in the name of the banned terrorist group Harqat-ul-Ansar. Initially, he was given the death sentence, but the Supreme Court commuted it to life imprisonment in 2003.
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The court firmly reiterated that the seriousness of the crime cannot be ignored, saying,
“the offence for which Sodozey was convicted is of the gravest order and the act was calculated, deliberate and carried out as part of a terrorist conspiracy to subvert the authority of the State and coerce governmental policy by unlawful means.”
With this decision, the Delhi High Court has once again made clear that while human rights and fairness to convicts are important, they cannot come at the cost of the nation’s security and the safety of its people.
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