Crl. W. P. No. 973 of 2010 (O&M) -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH -.- Crl. W. P. No. 973 of 2010 (O&M) Date of decision:- 25.5.2010 Pawan ... Petitioner Versus State of Haryana & Ors ... Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GURDEV SINGH Present:- Mr. H.P.S.Aulakh, Advocate, for the petitioner. Ms. Shalini Attri, DAG, Haryana. Gurdev Singh, J (oral) Heard. This writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed by Pawan – petitioner, who is undergoing sentence of imprisonment for a term of ten years and is confined in District Jail, Gurgaon, for issuance of parole for the grant of two week's temporary release under Section 3(1)(d) of the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') for the performance of “Bhatt” ceremony on the occasion of the marriage of two daughters namely Pooja and Preeti of his sister Darshana. According to the petitioner the appeal in which he has challenged the conviction and sentence is pending before this Court. He is the only maternal uncle of the said two girls whose marriages are fixed for 27.5.2010. The said ceremony is the compulsory and religious ceremony to be performed by the maternal uncle. He made a representation to the Superintendent of the Jail firstly on 1.5.2010 and secondly on 11.5.2010 for the grant of parole for performing the said ceremony, but no action has been Crl. W. P. No. 973 of 2010 (O&M) -2- taken. Notice of motion was issued and the notice on behalf of the respondents was received by Ms. Shalini Attri, DAG, Haryana. No reply to the petition has been filed. However, it has been submitted by learned State counsel that on verification, it has been found that the marriage of the daughters of the sister of the petitioner are so fixed for 27.5.2010. The relevant portion of Section 3 of the Act is reproduced below:- “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 sub-section (2); any prisoner, if the State Government is satisfied that - (a) xx xx xx (b) the marriage of prisoner himself, his son, daughter, grandson, grand-daughter, brother, sister, sister's son or daughter is to be celebrated;” (c) The period for which a prisoner may be released shall be determined by the State Government so as to exceed - (a) xx xx xx xx (b) where the prisoner is to be released on the ground specified in clause (b) or clause (d) of sub-section (1), four weeks; and (c) where the prisoner is to be released on the ground specified in clause (c ) of sub-section (1), six weeks; Provided that the temporary release under clause ( c ) can be Crl. W. P. No. 973 of 2010 (O&M) -3- availed more than once during the year which shall not, however, cumulatively exceed six weeks.” Thus in connection with the marriage of the daughters of the sister an order can be made for temporary release of the petitioner. Such an order was passed by this Court in Crl. Misc. No. 11594 – M of 1997 (Satyavart Vs. State of Haryana), in which petition was filed by the petitioner for releasing him on parole in connection with the marriage of the son of the sister. Once the representation was made by the petitioner before the Superintendent of Jail well in time, the same should have been got processed immediately for seeking necessary orders from the State Government. The very purpose of the temporary release of the petitioner will be defeated as a result of the delay as he is to perform the ceremonies at the time of the marriage of the daughters of his sister which are fixed for 27.5.2010. The petition is accepted accordingly and the petitioner is ordered to be released temporarily on bail for a period of ten days w.e.f 26.5.2010 in order to enable him to perform the said ceremonies on his furnishing personal bonds in the sum of Rs. 50,000/- with a surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Chief Judicial Magistrate/Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jhajjar. On the request of learned State counsel a copy of this order is ordered to be given dasti to her under the signatures of the Court Secretary of this Court. May 25, 2010 (Gurdev Singh) tripti Judge