A convict in the 2011 Keenan-Ruben murder case has died after waiting nine years for his appeal to be heard by the Bombay High Court. This comes despite repeated Supreme Court directions urging the High Court to decide the case within three months.
The Supreme Court of India annulled a condition imposed by the Gujarat Government that required a murder convict to “behave decently” for two years as a prerequisite for remission. The Court deemed the condition arbitrary and vague, violating constitutional rights, while upholding a second condition related to criminal conduct but emphasizing adherence to natural justice in revocation processes.
Justice Manisha Batra highlighted how a convict, Shalinder Singh, manipulated the parole system by submitting fraudulent medical documents to evade his 25-year prison sentence for four counts of murder. The court ordered an inquiry and emphasized the need to prevent such exploitation of loopholes in the criminal justice system to maintain its integrity.
