Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. Date of Decision: July 25, 2011 (1) Criminal Writ Petition No.768 of 2005 Ajaib Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (2) Criminal Writ Petition No. 373 of 2004 Jagmohan Kumar .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (3) Criminal Writ Petition No. 806 of 2005 Budha Singh and another .....Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (4) Criminal Writ Petition No. 770 of 2005 Mohinder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -2- (5) Criminal Writ Petition No. 769 of 2005 Nazar Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (6) Criminal Writ Petition No. 636 of 2005 Hans Raj alias Hansa .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (7) Criminal Misc. No. 65296-M of 2005 Pala Singh alias Pal Singh and another .....Petitioners Versus State of Punjab .....Respondents (8) Criminal Writ Petition No. 831 of 2005 Sukhwinder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (9) Criminal Writ Petition No. 805 of 2005 Amarjit Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -3- (10) Criminal Writ Petition No. 766 of 2005 Maktool Singh and others .....Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (11) Criminal Writ Petition No. 142 of 2005 Sukhwinder Singh @ Sukha .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (12) Criminal Misc. No. 20438-M of 2006 Mohd. Yaseen .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (13) Criminal Misc. No. 20440-M of 2006 Inder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (14) Criminal Misc. No. 11949-M of 2006 Darshan Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -4- (15) Criminal Writ Petition No. 464 of 2006 Ajay Sharma .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (16) Criminal Writ Petition No. 236 of 2006 Karamjit Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (17) Criminal Writ Petition No. 198 of 2006 Randhir Singh @ Dhira .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (18) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1194 of 2006 Balbir Singh @ Bhapa .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (19) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1193 of 2006 Rajdeep Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -5- (20) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1161 of 2006 Labh Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (21) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1153 of 2008 Ramesh Kumar .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (22) Criminal Writ Petition No. 197 of 2006 Paramjit Singh @ Pammi .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (23) Criminal Writ Petition No. 754 of 2006 Manjinder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (24) Criminal Writ Petition No. 697 of 2006 Kaur Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -6- (25) Criminal Misc. No 24477-M of 2006 Vinod Kumar .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (26) Criminal Misc. No. 26015-M of 2006 Mohinder Singh @ Bhinder .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (27) Criminal Misc. No. 28084-M of 2006 Gurmukh Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (28) Criminal Misc. No. 47742-M of 2006 Avtar Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (29) Criminal Misc. No. 12696-M of 2006 Joginder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -7- (30) Criminal Misc. No. 15109-M of 2006 Harjit Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (31) Criminal Misc. No. 20069-M of 2006 Sinder Singh and another .....Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (32) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1152 of 2006 Mohinder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (33) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1151 of 2006 Satkartar Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (34) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1138 of 2006 Ajaib Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -8- (35) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1130 of 2006 Tejinder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (36) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1107 of 2006 Baljinder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (37) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1106 of 2006 Malkit Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (38) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1105 of 2006 Balwinder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (39) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1104 of 2006 Ranjit Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -9- (40) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1103 of 2006 Billu Ram .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (41) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1096 of 2006 Lal Din .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (42) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1095 of 2006 Daler Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (43) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1094 of 2006 Jeet Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (44) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1090 of 2006 Satnam Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -10- (45) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1089 of 2006 Avtar Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (46) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1088 of 2006 Harpreet Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (47) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1087 of 2006 Pardeep Kumar .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (48) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1086 of 2006 Nirmal Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (49) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1085 of 2006 Jarnail Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -11- (50) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1063 of 2006 Ekka Ram .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (51) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1062 of 2006 Sapinder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (52) Criminal Writ Petition No. 726 of 2006 Joginder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (53) Criminal Writ Petition No. 288 of 2006 Lal Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (54) Criminal Writ Petition No. 31 of 2007 Indrash Kumar Joshi .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -12- (55) Criminal Writ Petition No. 32 of 2007 Gurnam Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (56) Criminal Writ Petition No. 33 of 2007 Kashmir Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (57) Criminal Writ Petition No. 358 of 2007 Kishan Lal .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (58) Criminal Writ Petition No. 84 of 2007 Jaspal Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (59) Criminal Writ Petition No. 360 of 2007 Puran Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -13- (60) Criminal Writ Petition No. 363 of 2007 Arvinder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (61) Criminal Writ Petition No. 27 of 2007 Raj Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (62) Criminal Writ Petition No. 28 of 2007 Parminder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (63) Criminal Writ Petition No. 29 of 2007 Dilbagh Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (64) Criminal Writ Petition No. 30 of 2006 Ms. Maya .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -14- (65) Criminal Writ Petition No. 26 of 2007 Vinod Kumar alias Vodi .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (66) Criminal Writ Petition No. 307 of 2007 Sher Mohd. Alias Jagga .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents (67) Criminal Writ Petition No. 380 of 2007 Ravinder Kumar @ Happy .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (68) Criminal Writ Petition No. 392 of 2007 Tehal Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (69) Criminal Writ Petition No. 103 of 2007 Budh Ram .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -15- (70) Criminal Writ Petition No. 104 of 2007 Tarlochan Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (71) Criminal Writ Petition No. 140 of 2007 Gurdev Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (72) Criminal Writ Petition No. 167 of 2007 Pritam Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (73) Criminal Writ Petition No. 243 of 2007 Gurdev Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (74) Criminal Writ Petition No. 297 of 2007 Dalbara Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -16- (75) Criminal Writ Petition No. 56 of 2007 Rajan Seth alias Rinku .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (76) Criminal Writ Petition No. 67 of 2007 Balwinder Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (77) Criminal Writ Petition No. 69 of 2007 Meet Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (78) Criminal Writ Petition No. 74 of 2007 Mangal Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (79) Criminal Writ Petition No. 101 of 2007 Darshan Ram alias Kala .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -17- (80) Criminal Writ Petition No. 23 of 2007 Gurmej Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (81) Criminal Writ Petition No. 757 of 2008 Anup Gupta .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (82) Criminal Writ Petition No. 756 of 2008 Surjit Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (83) Criminal Writ Petition No. 780 of 2008 Ajit Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (84) Criminal Writ Petition No. 1395 of 2010 Karnail Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -18- (85) Criminal Writ Petition No. 924 of 2010 Krishan Lal .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (86) Criminal Writ Petition No. 787 of 2010 Vinod Kumar .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (87) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 79576-M of 2006 Kehar Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (88) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No.79039-M of 2006 Rattan Singh .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (89) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 76370-M of 2006 Sabrullah .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -19- (90) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No.75666-M of 2006 Suraj Pal @ Suraj .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents (91) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 75270-M of 2006 Darshan Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents (92) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 1179 of 2006 Surjan Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (93) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No.75275-M of 2006 Resham Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents (94) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 74975-M of 2006 Manoj Kumar alias Lucky .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -20- (95) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 10 of 2006 Randhir Singh and another .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (96) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 1084 of 2006 Jagmet Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (97) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 640 of 2006 Hem Raj and others .....Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (98) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 79738-M of 2006 Balwant Rai @ Banti .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents (99) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 81440-M of 2006 Sohan Lal .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -21- (100) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 81069-M of 2006 Nalson .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents (101) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 80494-M of 2006 Narinderjit Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (102) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No.80152-M of 2006 Narinderjit Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (103) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 79883-M of 2006 Maghar Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents (104) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 79727-M of 2006 Shangara Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -22- (105) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 79584-M of 2006 Mohinder Kaur alias Mindo .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents (106) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 79152-M of 2006 Salim .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (107) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 78784-M of 2006 Amrik Lal .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (108) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 77516-M of 2006 Puran Singh and others .....Petitioners Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (109) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 76382-M of 2006 Nachhatar Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -23- (110) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No.76378-M of 2006 Sarbjit alias Sabi .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents (111) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 75650-M of 2006 Jaspal Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and another .....Respondents (112) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 1748-M of 2007 Harwinder Singh and another .....Petitioners Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (113) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 3484-M of 2007 Jarnail Singh .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (114) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No.3216-M of 2007 Jit Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -24- (115) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 5816-M of 2007 Virsa Singh .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (116) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No.11012-M of 2007 Amrik Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (117) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No.70 of 2007 Hans Raj .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (118) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 157 of 2007 Avtar Singh .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (119) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 245 of 2007 Megh Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -25- (120) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 431 of 2007 Tulasi .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (121) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 750 of 2007 Parkash Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (122) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 15779-M of 2007 Dewan Singh .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (123) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 1155 of 2007 Sarwan Singh .....Petitioner Versus Union Territory Administration, Chandigarh and others .....Respondents (124) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 12 of 2007 Labh Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -26- (125) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 1800-M of 2007 Sarabjit Singh alias Sabba .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (126) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 2009-M of 2007 Gajjan Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (127) IO IN-Criminal Misc. No. 1844-M of 2007 Narinjan Singh .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (128) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 13 of 2007 Avtar Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (129) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 15 of 2007 Lakhwinder Singh alias Soni .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -27- (130) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 14 of 2007 Karaj Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (131) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 16 of 2007 Sulakhan Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (132) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 160 of 2007 Shankar Lal .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (133) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 17 of 2007 Virsa Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (134) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 178 of 2007 Hira Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -28- (135) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 179 of 2007 Punna Ram .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (136) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 18 of 2007 Hardeep Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (137) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 180 of 2007 Heera Lal .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (138) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 181 of 2007 Dhanna Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (139) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 19 of 2007 Rajinder Kumar .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -29- (140) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 20 of 2007 Baldev Singh @ Bhitti .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (141) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 21 of 2007 Bhim Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (142) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 22 of 2007 Sukhdev Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (143) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 51 of 2007 Pilu Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (144) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 63 of 2007 Hari Krishan alias Tony .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -30- (145) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 64 of 2007 Gurmej Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (146) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 65 of 2007 Darshan Singh @ Kala .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (147) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 66 of 2007 Kuldeep Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (148) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 1336 of 2008 Mohan Singh and others .....Petitioner Versus The State of Punjab and others .....Respondents (149) IO IN-Criminal Writ Petition No. 1175 of 2008 Harlaik Singh .....Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others .....Respondents Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -31- CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE SATISH KUMAR MITTAL --- Present: Mr.Vijay K. Jindal, Advocate and Mr. Vipul Jindal, Advocate. Mr. Chaman Lal Goyal, Advocate. Mr. S.S. Rana, Advocate. Mr. Vikram K. Chaudhri, Advocate. Ms. Bhupinder Pal Kaur Brar, Advocate. Mr. H.S. Rakhra, Advocate. Mr. G.S. Kaura, Advocate. Ms. Gurveen H. Singh, Addl.A.G., Punjab. .. SATISH KUMAR MITTAL, J. This order shall dispose of the aforementioned 149 Criminal Writ/Misc. Petitions, out of which, 86 Criminal Writ/Misc. petitions from serial No.1 to 86 were adjourned sine-die to await the decision of the SLP pending adjudication before the Supreme Court, and in the meanwhile, it was directed that the petitioners be temporarily released in case they fulfill the terms and conditions contained in the order dated November 8, 2006; and the remaining 63 IO in Criminal Writ/Misc. petitions from serial No.87 to 149 were disposed of with the rider contained in the aforesaid order dated November 8, 2006. All these Criminal Writ/Misc. Petitions have been filed by the convicts, who are undergoing imprisonment awarded to them under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as `the NDPS Act'). In these cases, the petitioners are seeking directions to the respondents i.e. Inspector General of Prisons, Punjab and Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -32- Superintendents of District/Central Jails where the petitioners are confined, to give them the benefits of special remissions awarded to the prisoners under various Circulars issued by the Governor of Punjab in exercise of powers under Article 161 of the Constitution of India; and to take into account the said period of remission towards the period of sentence undergone by them, and if they have undergone the period of awarded sentence by taking into consideration the said benefit, they may be directed to be released as having completed the awarded sentence. The respondents are contesting the prayer of the petitioners on the ground that in view of Section 32-A of the of the NDPS Act, the convicts under the NDPS Act are not entitled to any remission, including the special remissions being granted by the Governor of Punjab in exercise of powers under Article 161 of the Constitution of India. It is further the case of the respondent-State, as argued by the learned counsel, that the State of Punjab has notified the Punjab Grant of Remission of Punishment Policy, 2010, clause 3 of which lays down that notwithstanding anything contained in this policy, no remission shall be granted to a convict who is undergoing sentence of imprisonment under the NDPS Act. During the course of hearing, it has been pointed out that vide various Circulars i.e., Circulars dated 12.8.1998 (Annexure P2), 8.4.1999 (Annexure P3), 13.4.2001 (Annexure P4), 14.8.2002 (Annexure P5), 14.8.2003 (Annexure P6), 9.7.2004 (Annexure P7) and 15.11.2005, some special remissions have been granted to the prisoners, who have been convicted by the court of criminal jurisdiction in the State of Punjab and confined in jails. It is pertinent to mention here that these special remissions Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -33- have been ordered by the Governor of Punjab in exercise of powers under Article 161 of the Constitution of India. While granting the special remission, it has also been mentioned that these Circulars will not apply to certain cases. A list of cases has been given in this regard, but undisputedly in the said list there is no mention that the convicts undergoing sentence of imprisonment under the NDPS Act shall not be entitled to these special remissions. This is undisputed position with regard to the aforementioned Circulars. However, for the first time, when the Circular was issued in the year 2006, i.e., 15.6.2006 for grant of special remission it was specifically mentioned that the benefit of special remission in the said Circular will not be given to the convicts who are undergoing imprisonment under the NDPS Act. It is a matter of fact that after 2006 no Circular was issued in which the benefit of special remission was given to any convict under the NDPS Act. In the year 2010 the State Government notified the aforesaid Policy in which it was specifically mentioned that the convicts who are undergoing imprisonment under the NDPS Act will not be entitled to special remission. In all these petitions, the petitioners are claiming the benefit of special remission under a Circular issued by the State Government prior to the year 2006. After the Policy of 2010, a question was raised by the State Government that in view of the said Policy the benefit of special remission cannot be granted to a convict under the NDPS Act even on the basis of the Circulars issued prior to the notification of this Policy as this Policy is having retrospective effect. On a reference made by the learned Single Crl.W.P.No.768 of 2005 etc. -34- Judge, this question was considered by a Division Bench of this Court in Bhola Ram Versus State of Punjab and others (Crl.W.P.No.506 of 2007 decided on 17.03.2011) and it has been held that the aforesaid Policy is prospective in operation and not retrospective, and the benefits already accrued or conferred upon the convicts under the old Circulars cannot be taken away by giving retrospective operation to this Policy. Now the question arises for consideration in these writ petitions is whether a convict undergoing imprisonment under the NDPS Act is entitled to special remissions granted to the convicts under the old Circulars issued by the Governor of Punjab in exercise of powers under Article 161 of the Constitution of India. It is made clear here that in all these cases none of the petitioners is claiming any remission granted by the authority under Section 432 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. All the petitioners are claiming special remissions granted to the convicts in the State of Punjab under Article 161 of the Constitution of India where there is no condition that the NDPS convicts shall not be entitled to such remissions. This question came up for consideration before this Court on several occasions. In Ekka Ram Versus State of Punjab and others (Crl.W.P.No.8839 of 2004), decided on September 14, 2005, it was held by the learned Single Judge as under:- “On the other hand, learned State counsel submitted that the petitioner, being a convict in offences under the provisions of the NDPS Act, is not entitled to get any benefit of remission because