Rajasthan High Court: While deciding a criminal writ petition, a Single Judge Bench comprising of Vinit Kumar Mathur, CJ, discussed the consideration before releasing a prisoner on parole.
The petitioner was serving life sentence for offences punishable under Sections 302 and 394 of IPC. He had already undergone a sentence of about 21 years. His application for being released on permanent parole was rejected by the Committee concerned on the reasoning that he had absconded from custody on two earlier occasions.
The Court found that the said two misdemeanours relate to the year 2007 and 2012. The entitlement to be released on parole was granted under Rule 9 of the Rajasthan Prisoners Release on Parole Rules, 1958. It was observed that the only consideration contemplated by the Rule is to see whether the prisoner’s conduct has been such that he is not likely to relapse into the crime. Further, a person who is serving a sentence has obviously committed a brush with the law. During the period of incarceration there may be acts of misdemeanor and the same would certainly be a valid reason. But merely looking at the said acts and nothing more would be a case of wrong application of mind. On the basis of the discussion, the Court held that the Committee concerned had misdirected the enquiry. The petition was disposed of by directing the competent authority to reconsider petitioner’s entitlement to be released on permanent parole in light of the discussion as mentioned hereinabove. [Bhuri Singh v. State, 2018 SCC OnLine Raj 1096, dated 1-5-2018]
