Pune: The Bombay High Court has granted a major reprieve to a person with a notorious criminal record in Pune district. Aslam Salim Shaikh, a 30-year-old man, had been sentenced to a staggering 83 years in prison for various serious crimes committed in the region. However, the High Court bench, comprising Justice Revathi Mohite-Dere and Justice Gauri Godse, has now ordered his release.
Aslam Shaikh had a staggering 41 cases of theft registered against him in various police stations across Pune district. His reign of criminal activity has kept him behind bars for the past nine years, and his cumulative sentence, including fines, amounted to 83 years, 3 months, and 5 days.
The court itself expressed concern that the cumulative sentence would require Aslam to spend more than 90 years in jail if he were to serve the entire term imposed by the lower court. The bench deemed such an extended sentence a “mockery of justice.”
Aslam Salim Shaikh is currently imprisoned at Yerawada Central Jail in Pune district. He took the matter to the High Court, challenging the sentence handed down by the lower court. His plea for release was heard by the bench, which ultimately ordered his freedom.
