‘Compulsory In His Religion’: Bombay HC Permits Man Convicted Of Electricity Theft To Travel for Haj
The petitioner filed the present application seeking permission to travel abroad for Haj, emphasising that performing the pilgrimage is a religious obligation
The Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad Bench recently granted permission to a Muslim man convicted of electricity theft to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Haj pilgrimage, accepting the contention that “it is compulsory in his religion".
A single-judge bench comprising Justice Abhay S. Waghwase, while allowing the application, noted that the appeal has been pending since 2016 and ruled that the petitioner could undertake the religious pilgrimage from April to September 2025, subject to conditions.
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The petitioner, Rahim Khan Sandu Khan, a 43-year-old businessman from Aurangabad, was convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge in October 2016 under Section 135 of the Indian Electricity Act in a case registered in 2007. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment, but was granted bail by the HC after filing an appeal challenging his conviction.
The petitioner filed the present application seeking permission to travel abroad for Haj, emphasising that performing the pilgrimage is a religious obligation. Advocate Joydeep Chatterji, representing the petitioner, argued that the appeal is unlikely to be heard in the near future and that Khan’s family members, including his wife, brother and sister-in-law, had already been allotted slots for the pilgrimage by the Haj Committee.
The state of Maharashtra, represented by Additional Public Prosecutor SS Dande, and the Union of India, represented by standing counsel Sudha Chintamani, did not raise objections to the request and submitted that appropriate orders may be passed by the court.
Taking note of the submissions, the court ruled in favour of the petitioner and held: “As appeal is of the year 2016, and there is no immediate chance of appeal being taken for hearing, for religious purposes, application deserves to be allowed."
As a result, the court granted Khan permission to travel abroad from April to September 2025 for the Haj pilgrimage.
Additionally, the court imposed certain conditions such as furnishing an undertaking that he will not misuse the permission granted, providing details of his itinerary, tickets, airline and accommodation in Saudi Arabia, and submitting details of the properties owned by him to both the police and the court before departure.
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