In a recent development, the Supreme Court has expressed its displeasure with the Delhi government over the prolonged delay in deciding the remission plea filed by 114 convicts, which includes a member of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist group. The said terrorist had been convicted for conspiring to wage war against the country and was awarded life imprisonment.

A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan criticized the states for routinely rejecting remission pleas of life convicts who have served more than 14 years in jail. The Additional Solicitor General, Vikramjit Banerjee, informed the court that a meeting of the Sentence Review Board was held on December 21 to consider the premature release of 114 eligible convicts, including the aforementioned JeM member named Gafoor. Banerjee further stated that the draft minutes of the meeting had been forwarded to the home department of the Delhi government for submission to the Lieutenant Governor.

However, the bench raised concerns about the government's actions, stating, "What you are doing is an absolute breach of the top court’s December 11 order. You have not clarified which remission policy you are following. What you did was very objectionable. When it comes to granting remission, all state governments are the same. There is a pattern. All state governments mechanically reject the first application for remission without considering it."

The top court granted a two-week deadline to the government to decide on the 114 remission pleas, including that of Gafoor. The court was hearing Gafoor's plea seeking premature release on the grounds that he has already served nearly 16 years in jail.

According to the prosecution, the case traces back to January 2007 when the special cell of the Delhi police received information that JeM planned to carry out a 'fidayeen' attack at prominent places in the national capital. Acting on this tip-off, a trap was laid on February 4, 2007. After a fierce encounter with the police near Connaught Place, all four suspects were arrested, and a substantial amount of explosives, grenades, and cash were recovered from them.