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2005 DIGILAW 977 (PNJ)

Pardeep Kumar v. State Of Haryana

2005-09-13

M.M.AGGARWAL

body2005
Judgment M.M.Aggarwal, J. 1. This is a petition for premature release of the petitioner in accordance with Haryana Government Instructions dated 12.4.2002. 2. According to the petitioner, he had been convicted in a murder case and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Court of Sessions Judge, Rohtak vide judgment dated 17.11.1995 that he has undergone 10 years of imprisonment and had earned 4 years remissions and, as such, in view of the Police Instructions dated 12.4.2002; he was entitled to be released prematurely. 3. Honble Supreme Court in 2006(2) RCR(Crl.) 66 (SC), Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 135/2003 titled Anil Sharma v. State of Haryana and another had made an order that "no convict serving a life sentence and who has not completed 14 years of imprisonment shall be released without further orders of this Court." Later on this order was modified that "stay order in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 135 of 2003 applies only to the 9 convicts mentioned in paras 4.4 of that petition. Similarly the stay order in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 200 of 2003 will only mean that there shall be no violation of the provision of Section 433-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure." Counsel for the petitioner argues that Section 433-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure does not apply in this case since instructions dated 12.4.2002 had been issued by the State Government in exercise of its power under Article 161 of the Constitution of India. That petitioner was entitled to, be considered and released prematurely after completing 10 years actual sentence and 14 years including remissions according to these instructions. 4. Section 433A of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides as under :- "433A. Restriction on powers of remission or commutation in certain cases. - Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 432, where a sentence of imprisonment for life is imposed on conviction of a person for an offence for which death is one of the punishment provided by-laws or where a sentence of death imposed on a person has been commuted under Section 433 into one of imprisonment for life, such person shall not be released from prison unless he had served at least fourteen years of imprisonment." 5. From the order reproduced in the written statement filed by the respondent of the Honble Supreme Court dated 12.2.2005 modifying its earlier order, it would come out that the State Government had been directed not to violate the provisions of Section 433-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 6. In this view of the matter, the State Government was justified in not accepting the request of the petitioner for premature release after just completing 10 years actual sentence and 14 years including remissions since as per Section 433A Cr.P.C., a person has to undergo 14 years actual sentence. 7. Under these circumstances, I do not find any merit in this petition and the same is dismissed.