Supreme Court offers death row convict facility in jail to grieve virtually for his deceased mother

The Supreme Court on Monday (August 26, 2025) offered a grieving death row convict the facility to virtually participate in the 13th day rituals and prayers for his departed mother, rather than allow him to make the journey from a Surat jail to the “Naxalite” area of Buxar in Bihar.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta suggested they could ask the jail authorities to arrange for Anil Surendrasingh Yadav, condemned to death for the murder and rape of a child, video facility in prison.

Senior advocate K. Parameshwar, for Yadav, appealed to the court’s sense of compassion to allow his client parole to join his family in grief for his mother at their home in Lohandi village in the Bijori gram panchayat.

The senior counsel said Yadav’s mother died of liver cancer on August 14. His client came to know of it on August 20, almost a week later.

“Unfortunately for him, he does not belong to a strata of society that can afford effective legal representation. Yet, he approached the Supreme Court for parole on August 21 itself. The ceremony is tomorrow [August 26],” Mr. Parameshwar submitted.

The court said it would not be possible for Yadav to reach his far-off village by August 26, and termed his parole application a “futile exercise”.

The court pointed to the nature of Yadav’s crime. However, Mr. Parameshwar said there were precedents of the court allowing condemned prisoners parole to attend weddings. “This is his mother’s death,” the senior counsel pressed.

The Bench pointed to the expenditure involved in taking Yadav to his village. “Why should taxpayers’ money be spent on a man convicted of such a heinous offence?” the judge asked.

The Gujarat State counsel said the issue involved was not just about the money, but the security concerns. “Yes, this is a Naxalite area,” Justice Nath reacted.

Mr. Parameshwar decided to not pursue the application for parole, saying his client was unable to bear the expenses of the journey and the police escort.