Criminal Writ Petition No.1526 of 2010 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Criminal Writ Petition No.1526 of 2010 Date of decision:- 1.10.2010 Mukesh Kumar ...Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and others ...Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAM CHAND GUPTA Present:- Mr. Krishan Singh, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr. Sukhvinder Singh Nara, Sr. DAG Haryana. RAM CHAND GUPTA J.(Oral) The present petition has been filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India read with Section 482 Cr.P.C. and Section 3 (1)(d) of Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1988 (hereinafter called the 'Act') for releasing the petitioner on emergency parole for four weeks for engaging an Advocate in Hon'ble Supreme Court to file appeal against the order passed by this Court in the appeal filed by the petitioner against the judgment of conviction and sentence awarded to him by learned Sessions Court and to quash the order Annexure P-2. Reply has been filed on behalf of State. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the whole record and the impugned order carefully. Request of petitioner for releasing him on parole has been declined by the competent authority on the ground that he has already availed parole six times earlier and during the current year twice i.e. from 21.4.2010 to 20.5.2010 and from 20.5.2010 to 11.6.2010. Criminal Writ Petition No.1526 of 2010 -2- It is pertinent to reproduce Section 3 of the Act, which is 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 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 prisoner; or (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 Criminal Writ Petition No.1526 of 2010 -3- (c ) where the prisoner is to be released on the grounds specified in clause (c) of sub- Section (1), six weeks: Provided that the temporary release under clause © can be availed more than once during the year, which shall not, however, cumulatively exceeded six weeks. (3) The period of release under this Section shall not count towards the total period of the release of a prisoner. (4) The State Government may, by notification, authorise any officer to exercise its power under this section in respect of all or any other ground specified thereunder.” Government of Haryana framed the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Rules, 2007 under the said Act. Rule 8 defines sufficient cause as mentioned in Section 3(i)(d) of the Act, which reads as under:- “(i) admission in school/colleges/professional institutions of the dependants of the convict; (ii) medically scheduled delivery of wife of the convict; (iii) house repairs/new construction of house owned by the convict. Parole for house repair shall be granted only once in three years; (iv) marriage of prisoner's brother's son or daughter to be celebrated in case his brother is not alive.” Sub Rule 3 of Rule 11 provides that a convict shall be granted parole only for once either under Section 3(2)(b) or Section 3(1)(d) during the calendar year, which reads as under:- “(3) Under Section 3(2)(b) a convict shall be granted parole only for once either under Section 3 Criminal Writ Petition No.1526 of 2010 -4- (1)(b) or Section 3(1)(d) and not for both separately during the calendar year except as provided under Rule 8 as above.” Request of the petitioner was rejected by the competent authority by holding that case of the petitioner for release on parole is not covered under the Act and rules and rather there is a specific bar under the rules for his release on parole again under Section 3(1)(b) or Section 3(1)(d) of the Act in the same calendar year. Hence, it cannot be said that any illegality has been committed by the competent authority in passing the impugned order warranting interference by this Court. No merit in the petition. The same is, hereby, dismissed. October 01, 2010 ( RAM CHAND GUPTA ) Vijay Asija JUDGE