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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad Bench has granted permission to a muslim man convicted for electricity theft to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Haj pilgrimage, accepting the contention that “it is compulsory in his religion.”

A Single judge bench comprising Justice Abhay S. Waghwase, while allowing the application, noted that the appeal has been pending since 2016 and ruled that the petitioner could undertake the religious pilgrimage from April to September 2025, subject to conditions.

The petitioner, Rahim Khan Sandu Khan, a 43-year-old businessman from Aurangabad, was convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge in October 2016 under Section 135 of the Indian Electricity Act for electricity theft in a case registered in 2007. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment but was granted bail by the High Court after filing an appeal challenging his conviction. The appeal remains pending since 2016.

The petitioner filed the present application seeking permission to travel abroad for Haj, emphasising that performing the pilgrimage is a religious obligation. Advocate Joydeep Chatterji, representing the petitioner, argued that the appeal is unlikely to be heard in the near future and that Khan’s family members, including his wife, brother, and sister-in-law, had already been allotted slots for the pilgrimage by the Haj Committee.

The State of Maharashtra, represented by Additional Public Prosecutor S.S. Dande, and the Union of India, represented by Standing Counsel Sudha Chintamani, did not raise objections to the request and submitted that appropriate orders may be passed by the court.

Taking note of the submissions, the court ruled in favour of the petitioner and held: “as appeal is of the year 2016, and there is no immediate chance of appeal being taken for hearing, for religious purpose, application deserves to be allowed.”

As a result, the court granted Khan permission to travel abroad from April to September 2025 for Haj pilgrimage.

Additionally, the court imposed certain conditions such as furnishing an undertaking that he will not misuse the permission granted, providing details of his itinerary, tickets, airline, and accommodation in Saudi Arabia, and submitting details of the properties owned by him to both the police and the court before departure.

 

Cause Title: Rahim Khan Sandu Khan vs. State of Maharashtra & Anr. [Criminal Application No. 365 of 2025 in Criminal Appeal No. 643 of 2016]