1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY NAGPUR BENCH : NAGPUR CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO.72 OF 2009 (Gajanan Baliram Shegokar vs. State and another) __________________________________________________________________ Office Notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders Court's or Judge's orders or directions and Registrar's orders. CORAM : D.D. SINHA AND P.B. VARALE, JJ. DATED : AUGUST 3, 2009 Heard Shri Deshpande, learned Counsel for the petitioner, and Mrs. Dangre, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondents. The grievance of the petitioner is in respect of not following the proper procedure by the Jail Authorities while imposing prison punishment for late surrender, etc.. Shri Deshpande, learned Counsel for the petitioner, states that prison punishment required to be imposed by the Jail Authorities should be imposed after following due procedure applicable in this regard as well as norms laid down by this Court 2 in the judgment dated 16.2.2008 in Criminal Writ Petition No.553/2007. It is submitted that it should not be left to the whims and fancies of the concerned Authorities and the prison punishment imposed must be just and proper and in accordance with law. Mrs. Dangre, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondents, states that this Court in the above referred judgment has given relevant factors to be considered while imposing punishment for prison offences including late surrender, etc. It is contended that specific norms/factors to be considered while imposing the punishment by the competent Authority are mentioned in para (12) of the said judgment, which read thus : “(i) Whether the prisoner surrendered himself or had to be arrested; (ii) The period of absence; (iii) The number of times the prisoner committed prison offences and the punishments, if any, imposed on earlier occasions; (iv) The number of times the prisoner breached the conditions imposed at the time of grant of parole/furlough; (v) In case of late surrender, the reasons given for not surrendering in time. Needless to mention that 3 the burden is entirely on the prisoner to place on record the relevant materials justifying late surrender. (vi) The conduct of the prisoner in Jail; (vii) The period of imprisonment already undergone by the prisoner. It is submitted that the Jail Authorities are taking into consideration these factors while imposing punishment and shall continue to do so in future. We have considered the contentions canvassed by the respective Counsel for the parties and perused the decision of this Court. In para (12) of the said judgment, this Court has mentioned relevant factors to be considered by the Competent Authority before imposing prison punishment. We want I.G. (Prison) to ensure that the competent Authority, who is vested with power to impose prison punishment must follow the procedure laid down by this Court and the factors mentioned in para (12) of the said judgment. It will be appropriate to issue necessary Circular in this regard to all the Superintendents of Prisons in the whole State of Maharashtra in order to avoid miscarriage of justice. With these observations, 4 the petition is disposed of. The Registrar (Judicial) is directed to forward copy of this order to the I.G. (Prison), State of Maharashtra. JUDGE JUDGE khj