Reconsider premature release plea of Dupatta Killer: HC to review board

Panaji: The high court on Tuesday directed the sentence review board to reconsider the application of the ‘Dupatta Killer’ Mahanand Naik for premature release. The HC set aside the observation of the trial court that he is not entitled to any set-off and said he is eligible for a set-off in one of the murder cases.
The sessions judge, North Goa, Panaji, on July 20, 2011, had observed that Naik is not entitled to the benefit of any set-off in terms of Section 428 of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure), having availed of it in another case.
Naik filed an application in the HC to set off the period of imprisonment undergone by him as an undertrial prisoner against the term of imprisonment imposed on him.
The HC directed the sentence review board to reconsider his application for premature release in terms of Goa Prison Rules, 2021, read with Section 433A of the CrPC, after taking into consideration that he is entitled to a set-off.
Naik was accused of murdering 16 women and found guilty of two murders. He was arrested in 2009 and continues to serve life imprisonment in two murder cases and was acquitted in the rest of the cases. The HC took into consideration the mandate of Section 428 of the CrPC, which allows an accused person to set off the time they spent in detention against the sentence they receive for a crime.
The HC also took into account the observations of the Supreme Court in Bhagirath v/s Delhi administration in the context of granting set-offs.