Criminal Writ Petition No. 1104 of 2011 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Criminal Writ Petition No. 1104 of 2011 Date of decision : July 27, 2011 Satbir Singh ....Petitioner versus State of Haryana and others ....Respondents Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice L.N. Mittal Present : Mr. V.K.Jindal, Advocate, for the petitioner Mr. Anil Kumar, DAG Haryana for respondents L.N. Mittal, J. (Oral) Satbir Singh has filed the instant petition under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution seeking conditional release under the Good Conduct Prisoners Probational Release Act, 1926 (in short, the Act) read with Good Conduct Prisoners Probational Release Rules, 1927 (in short, the Rules). In FIR No. 337 dated 24.5.1994 under sections 304-B and 498-A IPC of Police Station City Panipat, the petitioner was convicted under sections 498-A and 304-B IPC by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Panipat vide judgment dated 19.10.1995, Annexure P/1 and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years under section 304-B IPC and Criminal Writ Petition No. 1104 of 2011 -2- to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years and to pay fine of Rs 200/- under section 498-A IPC vide order dated 21.10.1995. Both the substantive sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The petitioner's case is that he is entitled to conditional release under the provisions of the Act read with Rules. Respondents have opposed the prayer of the petitioner on twin grounds. It has been pleaded that the Act has been repealed vide the Good Conduct Prisoners Probational Release (Repeal) Act, 2001 (in short, the Repeal Act) and therefore, the petitioner is not entitled to benefit of the Act which has since been repealed. Secondly, infrastructure required for release under the Act no longer subsists. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case file. Learned counsel for the petitioner vehemently contended that repeal of the Act is not retrospective and if the petitioner had fulfilled the conditions of conditional release under the Act before its repeal, the petitioner is entitled to consideration of his case for conditional release under the Act. I have carefully considered the aforesaid contention and find considerable merit therein. Repeal of the Act is not retrospective. On the contrary, section 2(c) of the Repeal Act specifically provides that the repeal shall not effect any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the Act so repealed. Consequently, if any right had accrued to the petitioner for consideration for conditional release under the Criminal Writ Petition No. 1104 of 2011 -3- Act before its repeal by the Repeal Act, the said right is not effected by the Repeal Act. In this view, I am supported by two judgments of this Court dated 1.10.2004, titled Ruli Ram versus State of Haryana etc., Criminal Writ Petition No. 104 of 2004 and dated 20.9.2002, titled Ram Dass versus State of Haryana and others, Criminal Misc. No. 32996 of 2002 in Criminal Main Misc. No. 46299-M of 2001, Annexures P/7 and P/8. Consequently, the petitioner is entitled to get his case considered for conditional release under the Act if he satisfied the conditions for conditional release under the Act before the Act was repealed. Non-existence of infrastructure cannot be a ground to decline the aforesaid benefit to the petitioner if he is otherwise entitled to the same under the Act. The State cannot abdicate its responsibility to provide statutory benefit to any citizen on the ground of lack of infrastructure. It is the duty of the State to create necessary infrastructure for implementation of the statutory provision. For the reasons aforesaid, the instant writ petition is allowed partly and respondents are directed to consider the case of the petitioner for conditional release under the provisions of the Act and the Rules framed thereunder within a period of three months from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order and pass appropriate order in accordance with law. ( L.N. Mittal ) July 27, 2011 Judge 'dalbir'