On Wednesday (3rd July), the Supreme Court granted bail to one Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh, stating that every sinner has a future.
Javed was arrested at the Mumbai airport on 9th February 2020 for possessing 1193 counterfeit notes (₹2000 denomination), worth ₹23.86 lakhs.
The case was later handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which found that Javed received the fake currency from an absconding criminal in Dubai.
The counterfeit notes were originally smuggled from Pakistan. Javed was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and spent 4 years in jail.
Supreme Court grants bail to Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh
It must be mentioned that the Bombay High Court had previously turned down his bail application, highlighting the serious nature of the crime and the potential threat to India’s economy.
A 2-Judge Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan set aside the Bombay High Court and granted bail to Javed. In its order, the court stated, “Trial courts and High Courts have forgotten a very well-settled principle of law that bail is not to be withheld as a punishment.”
The Judges added, “Howsoever serious a crime may be, an accused has a right to speedy trial as enshrined under the Constitution of India.” The court noted that the delay in speedy trial in Javed’s case was violative of Article 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty) of the Indian Constitution.
‘Every sinner has a future’ redux ft. Supreme Court
In its order, the Supreme Court stated, “Criminals are not born but made. The human potential in everyone is good and so, never write off any criminal as beyond redemption.”
“The overarching postulate of criminal jurisprudence that an accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty cannot be brushed aside lightly, howsoever, stringent the penal law may be,” it further added.
In the end, the Judges observed, “Every saint has a past and every sinner a future.”
In April 2022, the Supreme Court of India commuted the death penalty of one Mohammed Firoz, who was convicted of rape and murder of a 4-year-old girl, to life sentence.
At that time, the Judges had stated, “The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”
