Fear of inmate committing crime on furlough not a strong enough ground to deny him leave, says HC
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside an order of the Haryana government which declined the plea of a prisoner for furlough on the ground that he falls into the definition of a ‘hardcore prisoner’.
The division bench of Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa and Justice Deepak Manchanda, while granting 21 days furlough to the petitioner, said, “The likelihood of committing a crime while on furlough would not be a sufficient ground for denying temporary release.”
The petitioner (the prisoner) in this case is Surender alias Choti.
He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment following an FIR registered against him in 2014 on charges of murder and under the provisions of Arms Act at Sadar Ballabgarh police station, Faridabad district.
The petitioner had challenged his conviction in the high court.
The counsel for Surender, Advocate Amrita Garg, argued that the petitioner has been wrongly categorised as a hardcore prisoner.
However, the state counsel contended that the petitioner was a habitual hardcore criminal. He is involved in 76 cases, of which he has been convicted in 30 of them. He is on bail in 16 pending cases, while he has been acquitted by the trial courts in 30 cases, the state counsel argued.
The high court said the pleadings show that the mother of the petitioner had applied for 21 days of furlough for him on the ground of her old age and ill health, besides a teenaged daughter of the petitioner living with her with no one to look after them.
In the pleadings, the mother has stated that she is 73 and remains unwell. She also stated that the petitioner’s 15-year-old daughter also resides with her and there is no one to look after them.
“Though the petitioner has been denied furlough because he is a hardcore criminal and … there is an apprehension that he may commit a crime if released on furlough and peace may be disturbed, the given reasoning is not acceptable. The likelihood of committing a crime while on furlough would not be sufficient ground for denying temporary release as the mere likelihood of committing a crime is not to be taken as an apprehension of a threat to the security of the state or maintenance of public order. Temporary Release Act envisages the temporary release of convicts. The mere fact that the person is convicted for an offence does not mean that he may abscond or commit a crime if released on furlough. It is always open to the authorities to impose stringent conditions to guard against such eventualities.” the bench said.
To enable the inmate to maintain constructive hope and active interest in life, statutory provisions have been made for granting furlough to a prisoner. If the same is denied for undue reasoning and conditions, which are beyond the means of the prisoner, the statute making the parole or furlough shall become a dead letter …, the high court added.
