Chander Singh vs State of Haryana and another

S.C. Datta, J.

This is a petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure praying for a direction upon the respondents for counting the period spent on parole towards the period of actual sentence undergone by the petitioner and for a further direction to release him forthwith after taking into consideration the aforesaid fact.

The petitioner is, at present, lodged in Central Jail, Hisar and the present petition has been filed through his maternal uncle''s son Jagdish Lal. The petitioner was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life by the Sessions Judge, Bhiwani under Section 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code on 17.11.1981. During the period of sentence, its petitioner has availed of parole on various occasions totalling one year, three months and six days. It is alleged that the respondents are not counting this period awards the period of actual sentence. The respondents having rejected his prayer for release on completion of 14 years actual imprisonment including under trial period and after earning atleast 6 years of remissions, the petitioner has moved this application seeking the aforesaid reliefs.

The petition was resisted by the State by filing written statement. They asserted that the period spent on parole cannot be counted towards the period of actual sentence undergone by the petitioner.

The petitioner has enclosed a copy of judgment on this Court rendered on 26.5.1995 by V.S. Aggarwal, J. He has also enclosed a copy of order passed by a Bench of this Court in Avtar Singh v. State of Haryana and others, Criminal Misc. No. 15693M of 1993, decided on 1.6.1995 by K.S. Kumaran, J. On a perusal of these judgments, it appears that the present case is squarely covered by the decisions rendered by their Lordships separately. I am in respectful agreement with the views expressed by their Lordships and hold that the period spent by the petitioner on parole is not to be excluded from the actual sentence undergone by the prisoner.

For the reasons aforesaid, the petition is allowed and the respondents are directed to consider the case of the petitioner in the light of the findings arrived at above within a period of two months.