Convict passes away in jail before his SLP reaches Supreme Court

New Delhi, Mar 22: A resident of Goa, Shailesh Mapari who was convicted of killing his friend Sagar in September 2004 and sentenced to life imprisonment died before his appeal was heard by the Supreme Court.

He had appealed in the Bombay High Court, but the same was rejected following which he filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court was surprised that his case had not been forwarded for remission despite the fact that he had been in prison for the past 16 years.

This is an assistance which should be forthcoming from the Goa Legal Services Authority itself. We thus, consider appropriate to direct that the case of the petitioner be taken up for consideration by the competent authority of the respondent state for release/remission in accordance with the norms of the respondent state, the SC said.

However what was not known to the court was that Mapari had died in the Colvale jail on December 21 2020. He had suffered a stroke in prison and was rushed to hospital, where he passed away.