1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPEALLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO. 2351 OF 2007 Prakash Dhondiram Madne. .... .... Petitioner. Versus The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ...... .... Respondents. None present for the Petitioner. Ms. P. H. Kantharia, Addl.P.P. for the State. CORAM: BILAL NAZKI and S. A. BOBDE, JJ. DATED : 24TH MARCH, 2008. P. C.: Nobody appears for the petitioner although an advocate had been appointed. The letter was received from Jail which was entertained as a petition. The prisoner complained against imposing a punishment of reducing 740 days from the period he had earned as remission. Counter affidavit has been filed. It is stated by the respondent that after the petitioner had been granted furlough he overstayed 148 days. Therefore, five times the day of overstay were reduced from the period of remission earned by the prisoner. It is also stated that he was earlier granted parole and he overstayed 85 days and at that occasion also he suffered reduction 2 of 425 days from his remission period. In 1997, he made a bid to escape from the prison at that time also he suffered reduction of 30 days from the period of remission. 2. It appears that the prisoner has successively overstayed. Therefore, the discretion exercised by the Government by reducing the period by five times the period of overstay, does not appear to be excessive. However, we feel that there are no proper guidelines framed as to how the discretion is to be exercised as to whether the reduction has to be made by the maximum days provided by the existing rules. The existing rules provide that the authority can impose reduction upto five times of the overstay. Therefore, we expect that the respondent shall frame guidelines that in which cases and in what circumstances, what period be reduced from the period of remission earned by a prisoner, if he overstays. This may be done within a period of six months from today. 3. With the above observations, the writ petition is disposed of. Sd/- (BILAL NAZKI, J.) Sd/- (S. A. BOBDE, J.)