Lachhman Singh vs State of Haryana

S.C. Malte, J.

The petitioner seeks parole for agriculture purpose. The petitioner was arrested in March 1994, and he continued to be in the jail during the trial. He was convicted under Section 302 IPC, and was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life. Under these circumstances, he sought parole.

Parole had been declined wholly on the ground that the petitioner had not completed one year of imprisonment since his conviction. For that purpose, reliance has been placed on the Haryana Government instructions issued on 1.9.1989. The only question would be whether parole can be, thus, declined by issuing instructions.

Section 3 of the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1988 gives the grounds on which a prisoner can be released temporarily. For ready reference it may be reproduced as follows :

"3. Temporary release of prisoners on certain grounds : (1) The State Government may, in consultation with the District Magistrate or any other officer appointed in this behalf, by notification in the official Gazette and subject to such conditions and in such manner as may be prescribed, release temporarily for a period specified in subsection (2), any prisoner, if the State Government is satisfied that;

(a) a member of the prisoner''s family had died or is seriously ill or the prisoner himself is seriously ill; or

(b) the marriage of prisoner himself, his son, daughter, grand son, grand daughter, brother, sister, sister''s son or daughter to be celebrated; or

(c) the temporary release of the prisoner is necessary for plough sowing or harvesting or carrying on any other agricultural operation on his land or his father''s undivided land actually in possession of the prisoner; or

(d) it is desirable to do so for any other sufficient cause.

(2) The period for which a prisoner may be released shall be determined by the State Government so as not to exceed

(a) where the prisoner is to be released or the grounds specified in clause (a) of subsection (1), three weeks;

(b) where the prisoner is to be released on the grounds specified is clause (c) of subsection (1), six weeks;

Provided that the temporary release under clause (c) can be availed more than once during the year, which shall not, however, cumulatively exceed six weeks.

(3) The period of a release under this Section shall not count towards the total period of sentence of a prisoner.

(4) The State Government may, by notification authorise any officer to exercise its powers under this section in respect of all or any other grounds specified thereunder."

A bare perusal of that Section would clearly indicate that there is no scope given to the State to vary the grounds on which temporary release of a prisoner can be granted. Obviously, therefore, the instructions that imposed additional conditions while regulating temporary release of a prisoner, cannot be said to have any sanction from the provisions of the Act. The counsel for the State placed reliance on the decision of this Court given in Criminal Misc. No. 4876M of 1996 decided on 22.4.1996. In that case, the Single Bench of this Court declined to interfere in the order of rejection of parole by holding that parole was rightly rejected because the petitioner had not completed one year of actual sentence. It may, however, be noted that in that case no argument was advanced as regards the legality or vires of the instructions, referred above. The counsel for the petitioner, on the other hand, brought my attention to the case of Varinder Singh v. State of Haryana, 1996(3) Recent Criminal Cases 726, in which a Single Bench of this Court considered the legality and vires of the instructions referred above, and observed such that such standing orders issued by the State cannot override the statutory scope under sections 3 and 4 of the said Act.

For the reasons stated above, I hold that the instructions or the standing order which curtail or qualify the grounds available in section 3 of the Act are illegal and ultra vires. In view of that, parole granted to the petitioner for a span of three weeks, on executing necessary papers.