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The high court allowed the convict to take his exams subject to approvals from the authorities and him paying the cost of the arrangements.
A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justice Sunil B Shukre and Justice MM Sathaye has recently allowed Mohammad Sajid Margub Ansari, a life convict of the 2006 Mumbai Train bomb blast to take his LLB exams.
“Considering the fact that on the last occasion, conditional permission was granted to the Applicant and there has been no complaint of any breach of those conditions having been committed by the Applicant, we find appropriate to allow this application on similar terms as earlier imposed. Accordingly, the permission is granted to the Applicant to appear at all four papers, Sem-II of third year LLB on 25.04.2023, 27.04.2023, 02.05.2023 & 04.05.2023 at Siddharth College of Law, Anand Bhavan, Dr. D.N. Road, Fort, Mumbai,” the court directed.
In 2022, the high court granted permission to Ansari to take his LLB semester 1 exam, but with certain conditions. Firstly, Ansari was to be placed in a separate examination room where he could be monitored to prevent any malpractice. Secondly, the court instructed the college to inquire about the availability of a separate room for Ansari to take the exams and to confirm that such a room would be provided to him along with security personnel. Thirdly, the authorities of Nashik Central Prison, where Ansari was incarcerated, were directed to permit him to travel to Mumbai and back at his own cost.
During the court hearing, the Special Public Prosecutor could not attend and the State's Additional Public Prosecutor, JP Yagnik, represented the government. Yagnik submitted before the court that Ansari should be allowed to take the exams subject to the conditions that were previously imposed by the court when Ansari took his first semester exams.
After hearing the arguments, the high court issued further directions. The court instructed the authorities of Nashik Central Prison to agree to let Ansari undertake travel from Nashik Central Prison to the venue of the examination on the dates given, subject to the conditions that were previously imposed. Additionally, the court ordered that Ansari should be promptly returned to Nashik Central Prison or any other prison in Mumbai for a temporary period of time immediately after the examination was over.
The division bench also directed the authorities to make necessary arrangements for security personnel where Ansari will be writing his paper. Furthermore, the court instructed Siddharth Law College to provide a separate hall and invigilator for Ansari to take his exams. The court in its order recorded the cost of all the arrangements should be paid by Ansari and if the cost arrangement is not made by Ansari or any of the authorities deny permission then the order would become inoperative.
“If any of the above authorities does not agree as aforesaid or Applicant does not pay cost, this order will be rendered inoperative in that event,” the bench noted.
Case title: Mohammad Sajid Margub Ansari vs State of Maharashtra
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