CRWP No.1901 of 2010 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRWP No.1901 of 2010 Date of decision: 30.11.2010 Sahab Singh ...Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and another others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RAM CHAND GUPTA Present: Ms.Minakshi Poswal, Advocate for the petitioner Mr.Amandeep Singh, AAG, Haryana *** Ram Chand Gupta, J.(Oral) The present petition has been filed by petitioner Sahab Singh under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 482 Cr.P.C. read with Section 3 of the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release ) Act, 1988 (for brevity 'the Act') for granting him agricultural parole for six weeks by setting aside the order dated 15.9.2010 Annexure P-1. Reply on behalf of the respondent-State has already been filed. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the whole record carefully. Admitted facts are that the petitioner was convicted and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment in case FIR No. 282 dated 13.9.1996 registered under Sections 304, 328, 120-B IPC at Police Station Pehowa, District Kurukshetra by the then Additional Sessions Judge, CRWP No.1901 of 2010 2 Kurukshetra. It has been contended by learned counsel for the petitioner that the appeal filed against the said judgment has been dismissed by this court. Further contends that he has already availed four weeks parole from 1.5.2010 to 30.5.2010 for getting admission of his children. Further contends that he had applied parole for agricultural operation, as he was entitled for the same, but the same has been rejected by the competent authority vide impugned order on the plea that he has already availed four weeks parole from 1.5.2010 to 30.5.2010 for getting admission of his children. Moreover, it has been contended by learned counsel for petitioner that during the pendency of this petition, marriage of the son of the petitioner is also fixed for 8.12.2010. Section 3 of the Act provides that a convict can be released on parole, which reads as under:- “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) a member of the prisoner’s family had died or is CRWP No.1901 of 2010 3 seriously ill or the prisoner himself is seriously ill; or (b) the marriage of prisoner himself, his son, daughter, grandson, grand-daughter, brother, sister, sister’s son or daughter is to be celebrated; or (c) the temporary release of the prisoner is necessary for ploughing, sowing or harvesting or carrying on any other agricultural operation on his land or his father’s undivided land actually in possession of the petitioner. (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 on the grounds specified in clause (a) of sub-section (1), three weeks; (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 grounds specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1), six weeks; CRWP No.1901 of 2010 4 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 release under this section shall not count towards the total period of the sentence of a prisoner. (4) The State Government may, by notification, authorize any officer to exercise its powers under this section in respect of all or any other ground specified thereunder.” Further Section 6 of the Act provides for the grounds on which the parole can be refused, which reads as under:- “6. Prisoners not entitled to be released in certain cases. – Notwithstanding anything contained in Sections 3 and 4, no prisoner shall be entitled to be released under this Act if, on the report of the District Magistrate, the State Government or an officer authorized by it in this behalf is satisfied that his release is likely to endanger the security of the State or the maintenance of public order.” Bare perusal of Section 6 of the Act shows that release of petitioner on parole can be refused only on the ground that the same is likely to endanger the security of the State or the maintenance of the public order. However, in the present case, request of the petitioner for his release CRWP No.1901 of 2010 5 on parole for agricultural operation has not been rejected on any of the grounds mentioned in Section 6 of the Act. Rather his request for releasing him on parole was rejected on the plea that he had availed parole in the recent past from 1.5.2010 to 30.5.2010 for getting admission of his children. However, about six months have expired since he returned from earlier parole. Conduct of the petitioner in the jail as per the reply remained good. Moreover, there is no bar under the Act and the Rules for availing agricultural parole within the same year as agricultural parole is covered under Section 3(1)(c) of the Act. Moreover, the marriage of the petitioner's son is also fixed for 8.12.2010. Hence, in view of these facts, the present petition is allowed and the impugned order dated 15.9.2010, Annexure P1, passed by the competent authority refusing release of the petitioner on parole for agricultural operation is set-aside. Respondents are directed to reconsider the case of the present petitioner for his release on parole in the light of the observations of this Court made above, as per the Act and the Rules and the Instructions on the point, within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order. November 30, 2010 (RAM CHAND GUPTA) gsv JUDGE