Delhi High Court on Saturday set aside the decision of the sentence review board (SRB) denying premature release to a man convicted for hijacking an Indian Airlines domestic flight in 1993. Remanding back the matter to SRB for a fresh consideration, Justice Sanjeev Narula observed that the convict’s conduct in jail indicated elements of reformation.”It is evident that the impugned decision of the SRB suffers from inadequacy of reasoning and non-consideration of relevant materials, including judicial observations bearing upon the petitioner’s conduct and reformation. Thus, the said decision cannot be sustained,” the high court said in its July 7 order.The convict, Hari Singh, was given life imprisonment for the offences under Section 4 of the Anti-Hijacking Act, 19821 as well as Sections 353, 365 and 506(II) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Singh had reportedly hijacked the plane to protest against the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the subsequent communal violence that engulfed the country. He was convicted by the trial court in 2001. His appeal was rejected by the high court in 2011, and the special leave petition was withdrawn from the Supreme Court.
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