A 105-year-old man convicted of murder has been granted freedom after the Supreme Court ruled on Friday to close his case. The court waived the remaining period of his life sentence, citing his advanced age as a significant factor in their decision.
The Supreme Court had, while granting him interim relief earlier, directed that Mondal be released from custody subject to conditions imposed by the trial court. The Chief Justice clarified that Mondal would not be sent back to prison even if the life sentence imposed on him had not technically come to an end. Rasik Chandra Mondal, who was born in 1920 in West Bengal’s Malda district, was convicted in a murder case in 1994. He remained in prison for nearly three decades before the Supreme Court granted him bail on November 29, 2024, according to news agency PTI . The court also made the interim bail order granted in 2024 absolute and final. With Friday’s order, the apex court has now brought the proceedings to an end and waived any remaining portion of Mondal’s life sentence, allowing the 105-year-old to remain out of custody.
“Having regard to the age of the petitioner, we close the case and waive the remaining sentence, if any,” the bench said while passing the order, the PTI report added. “As an interim order, we direct that the petitioner, Rasik Chandra Mondal, will be released on interim bail/parole during the pendency of the present writ petition, on terms and conditions to be fixed by the trial court,” the court had said earlier.
