PANAJI
The Goa government has challenged the order of the High Court of Bombay at Goa directing the premature release of Rohan Dhungat, Ryan Pinto and Shankar Tiwari, the three life convicts in the 2006 Mandar Surlakar kidnapping and murder case.
Advocate General Devidas Pangam confirmed to The Goan that the State has already filed an appeal and that the matter is awaiting listing before the court.
Last Thursday, the Division Bench of Justice Neela Gokhale and Justice Amit Jamsandekar had quashed the government's December 18, 2025 decision rejecting the State Sentence Review Board's recommendation for premature release of the trio.
The Bench observed that the remission policy is founded on a reformative rather than a retributive approach and noted that after more than 20 years of incarceration, continued imprisonment of the convicts may not be fruitful in any manner.
The court then directed that all three be released subject to conditions requiring them to report to the local police station once every month for six months and thereafter once every three months for the next six months.
Meanwhile, the High Court on Monday questioned the State over the delay in implementing its release order, as Pinto remained in custody despite last week's judgment.
The matter was mentioned before the Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar, which sought an explanation from the government on why its order had not been complied with.
The State informed the court that Pinto would be released immediately after completion of the necessary formalities and that he would walk out of prison later in the day. He subsequently walked out free later evening.
Dhungat and Tiwari, who are already out on parole when the High Court delivered its judgment, did not require immediate physical release.
The State submitted that both Dhungat and Tiwari have been directed to report to Colvale Central jail at 10 am on Tuesday to complete the required formalities, following which formal release orders will be issued and the trio will be treated as released in terms of the High Court's judgment.
Pinto, speaking to the media later, apologised to Surlakar family without revealing more details.
