Bombay High Court
* Dipak S/O Sudhakar Wakalekar vs The State Of Maharashtra on 4 May, 2011
Author: Naresh H Patil
Bench: Naresh H Patil, A.V. Nirgude, T.V. Nalawade
1 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
BENCH AT AURANGABAD
Criminal Writ Petition No.848 Of 2010
* Dipak S/o Sudhakar Wakalekar,
Age Major,
Occupation : Nil,
Original resident of Ramwadi
(Mali Chal), Panchvati Nasik
Present in Open Jail Paithan,
District Aurangabad. .. Petitioner.
Versus
1) The State of Maharashtra
2) Assistant Police Commissioner
(Crime Branch) Nasik.
3) D.I.G. Prison, Aurangabad.
4) Superintendent, Open Jail,
Aurangabad. .. Respondents.
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Shri. R.D. Sanap, Advocate for petitioner.
Shri. K.G. Patil and Smt. R.K. Ladda, Additional Public
Prosecutors, for respondent Nos.1 to 4.
Shri. Joydeep Chatterjee, Amicus Curiae.
--------
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2 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010
With
Criminal Writ Petition No.954 Of 2010
* Shivaji s/o Bali Pawar,
Age 45 years,
Occupation Nil,
R/o At Present Open Jail Paithan,
District Aurangabad. .. Petitioner.
Versus
1) The State of Maharashtra,
2) The Superintendent,
Open Jail, Paithan,
District Aurangabad
3) The Inspector General of
Prisons,
Central Jail Harsul,
Aurangabad,
District Aurangabad. .. Respondents.
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Smt. Sharda P. Chate, Advocate, for petitioner.
Shri. K.G. Patil and Smt. R.K. Ladda, Additional Public
Prosecutors, for respondent Nos.1 to 3.
Shri. Joydeep Chatterjee, Amicus Curiae.
---------
CORAM: NARESH H PATIL,
A.V. NIRGUDE &
T.V. NALAWADE, JJJ.
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3 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010
Order reserved on : 29th APRIL 2011
Order pronounced on : 04th MAY 2011.
ORDER:(Per Naresh H Patil, J.
1) During the course of arguments advanced in the proceedings of Criminal Writ Petition Nos.848 of 2010 and 954 of 2010, a Division Bench of Bombay High Court at Aurangabad (Coram: P.V. Hardas & A.V. Potdar, JJ.) directed the Registry to place the papers before Hon'ble the Chief Justice for constituting larger bench for referring the following question :
"Whether as per proviso to Rule 6 of The Prison (Bombay Furlough and Parole) Rules, 1959, a convict confined in open prison, can be released on parole/furlough by the Authorities by dispensing with the requirement of execution of bond by the relatives ?"
2) In the proceedings of Criminal Writ Petition No. 848 of 2010 the petitioner therein contended that he was confined in Open Jail Paithan, District Aurangabad. The petitioner sought direction against the jail authorities to release him on furlough on executing personal bond.
::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 4 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 20103) The petitioner in Criminal Writ Petition No.954 of 2010 sought directions against the Superintendent, Open Jail Paithan to release him on furlough as per the order dated 22-7-2010 issue by the D.I.G. (Prisons) wherein the first condition of release of the petitioner on furlough was that he ought have furnished a surety of his relative in the sum of Rs.2000/-.
4) In both these petitions affidavits-in-reply are filed by the respondents - authorities through Padmakar Devidas Bhalerao, Superintendent of Open District Prison Paithan.
In the affidavit filed in the proceedings of Criminal Writ Petition No.848 of 2010 the Superintendent, Open Prison, Paithan has averred in para 8 as under :
"8. I say that, even the order of furlough leave is passed but he petitioner is stubborn and avail the liberty as he has harping of releasing him on executing of P.R. Bond. In view of this, the prayer of the petitioner does not stand in merit as per the Prison Rules and the judgment of the Hon'ble High Curt Bench at Nagpur and the Hon'ble Apex Court, the prayer of the petitioner for furlough leave on executing only P.R. Bond does not stand in merit as there is no provision for release on furlough / parole leave on executing the P.R. Bond."::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 5 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010
In the affidavit filed in the proceedings of Criminal Writ Petition No.954 of 2010 the deponent averred in para 4 as under :
"4. I say that, petitioner had tendered proposed surety namely Devai Bali Pawar, mother of petitioner, she had refused to stand as surety. Therefore for want of proper surety the learned authorities are unable to release the petitioner on furlough leave. The petitioner further prayed for release on P.R. bond but as per the ratio laid down by the Hon'ble High Court and the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the convicts may not be released on P.R. bond for the purposes of furlough leave."
5) The jail authorities had adopted a stand that while releasing a person confined in open jail, on furlough, he ought to have furnished a surety bond of the relatives in the light of the order dated 8th March 2010 passed in Criminal Writ Petition No.13 of 2010 by the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court at Nagpur (Coram: A.P. Lavande & P.D. Kode, JJ.) and the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of State of Maharashtra v. Suresh P. Darvakar, JT 2006 (4) SC 575.
6) The Division Bench at Nagpur disposed of the Criminal Writ Petition No.13 of 2010 by passing following order :
::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 6 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010" Heard Mr. Dhabe, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Jaiswal, learned APP for the Respondents.
The grievance of the petitioner who is undergoing sentence of imprisonment for life for having committed offences under Sections 302 and 201 of IPC is that his application for furlough has not been dealt with in accordance with law by the authorities. On behalf of the respondents, the Superintendent, Morshi Open Prison has filed an affidavit stating that by order dated 9.12.2009 the petitioner has been released on furlough upon executing personal bond. A copy of the said order has also been annexed to the affidavit.
We have been informed that pursuant to the said order, the petitioner was actually released on furlough and he has surrendered back to the prison. As such the cause of action in the present petition does not survive.
Although the cause of action no more survives, we would like to dealt with one more aspect of the matter which has come to our notice. By order dated 9.12.2009 the petitioner has been released on furlough upon execution of personal bond. We find that grant of furlough leave by the competent authority to the petitioner on personal bond is contrary to the Prison (Bombay Furlough and Parole) Rules, 1959 and also contrary to the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of State of Maharashtra v. Suresh Pandurang Darvakar, reported in JT 2006 (4) SC 576. We are surprised that respondent no.1 who is the competent authority to grant furlough/parole has passed the order granting furlough in clear breach of the Rules and that of the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Suresh Darvakar (supra). It is also pertinent to note that this judgment was delivered in the appeal preferred by the State of Maharashtra and another. We, therefore, deem it appropriate to direct Inspector General of Prisons, Pune to circulate the said judgment to all the competent authorities in the State of Maharashtra so that henceforth no order is passed by any competent authority either in breach of the Rules or ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 7 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 contrary to the judgment in the case of Suresh Darvakar (supra). The DIG Prisons shall circulate the judgment within a period of four weeks from today and report compliance to this Court within a period of 8 weeks from today.
The petition stands disposed of in the aforesaid terms. ..... "
7) In the case of Darvakar (supra) the learned Single Judge of the Bombay High Court had directed release of the prisoner on furlough on furnishing prisoner's surety of Rs.500/- lying in deposit with the jail authorities.
The said order was challenged before the Apex Court by the State of Maharashtra. We would refer to the observations of the Apex Court in para 5 of the said judgment which reads thus :
"5. Rule 6, inter alia, provides that a prisoner shall not be granted furlough unless he has a relative willing to receive him while on furlough and is ready to enter into a surety bond in Form A appended to the Rules for such amount as may be fixed by the Sanctioning Authority. The proviso authorizes the Sanctioning Authority to dispense with the requirement of execution of such bond by relatives of prisoners confined in Open Prisons as defined in Clause (b) of rule 2 of the Maharashtra Open Prisons Rules, 1971. Therefore, the twin requirements flowing from Rule 6 are (a) a relative of the applicant should be wiling to receive him while on furlough and (b) he must be ready to enter into a surety bond. In the instant case, the relatives refused to execute such surety bond. The ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 8 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 verification reports received by the police from the District Magistrate, Amravati and Superintendent of Police, Amravati indicate that the sister of the respondent refused to stand surety as the respondent allegedly committed rape on his step mother and has been convicted for offences punishable under Sections 376 and 354 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for seven years with fine. In view of the adverse police report and non-compliance with the requirements stipulate under Rules 4(4) and 6, the Competent Authority rejected the application for grant of furlough by order dated 18.7.2005."
8) For the purposes of the issue involved herein we would reproduce relevant provisions of Rules 6,10,24 and 28 of the Prisons (Bombay Furlough and Parole) Rules, 1959.
"6. Furlough not to be granted without surety - A prisoner shall not be granted furlough unless he has a relative willing to receive him while on furlough and ready to enter into a surety bond in Form A appended to these rules for such amount as may be fixed by the Sanctioning Authority :
Provided that the sanctioning Authority may dispense with the requirement of execution of such bond by relatives of prisoners confined in Open Prisons as defined in clause (b) of rule 2 of the Maharashtra Open Prisons Rules, 1971."
"10. Conditions of release;- The Sanctioning Authority shall grant furlough to a prisoner subject to his executing a personal bond or giving cash security in Form C appended to these rules and also subject to a surety executing a bond in Form A appended to these rules, if so required. ...... "::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 9 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010
"24. Conditions subject to which prisoners may be granted parole :- The Competent Authority may grant parole to a prisoner subject to his executing a surety bond and a personal bond in Forms A and B respectively to observe all or any of the conditions mentioned therein and also subject to such other conditions, if any, as may be specified by the Competent Authority :
Provided that when prisoners convicted of serious offences are released on parole, a condition shall be included in the parole order directing or requiring the prisoner to report at the Police Station nearest to the place where he intends to spend his parole initially on his reaching such place and thereafter once or twice a week at such intervals as may be considered expedient :
Provided further that when a prisoner applies for parole for the purpose of appearing at an examination he will not be eligible to be released on parole unless the Inspector General of Prisons has passed an order permitting him to appear at such examination."
"28. Application of certain rules to parole cases :- The provisions of rules 8(5), 10,11 and 12 shall mutatis mutandis apply in the case of release of prisoners on parole."
9) Learned counsel Shri. Chatterji assisted the Court as Amicus Curiae. The learned counsel Shri. R.D. Sanap appearing for petitioner in Criminal Writ Petition No.848 of 2010 submitted that the proviso to Rule 6 of Prisons (Bombay Furlough and Parole) Rules, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as "the Rules of 1959") were not ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 10 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 brought to the kind notice of the Division Bench which passed order in Criminal Writ Petition No.13 of 2010 on 8th March 2010. The counsel submitted that the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Darvakar (supra) was not properly appreciated by the Division Bench, inasmuch as the Apex Court did not observe that proviso to rule 6 of the the Rules of 1959 conferring discretion on the sanctioning authority to dispense with requirement of execution of surety bond was not to be acted upon by the sanctioning authority. It was, therefore, submitted that, the judgment of the Apex Court was misconstrued and misinterpreted by the Division Bench.
The learned counsel has placed reliance on the judgment of the Full Bench of Gujarat High Court in the case of Natia Jiria v. State of Gujarat, 1984 Cri.L.J.936.
In the said case, Natia Jiria, a prisoner, had addressed application to the Chief Justice complaining that he was unable to take advantage of the order passed by the Inspector General of Prisons, Gujarat State, to release him on furlough since such release is made conditional on furnishing security or deposit of Rs.100 as required under ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 11 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 the rules. The prisoner wrote that he was absolutely poor and the economic condition of the family was weak and therefore he was not in a position to furnish surety of Rs.
100/-. He therefore requested for releasing him on furlough on personal bond. The Full Bench referred to rules 6 and 10 of the Rules 1959. The following observations of the Full Bench are relevant for our purposes :
"6. Is it possible to understand the rules as enabling a competent authority to permit availing of furlough leave even without insistence of either cash security or a surety bond? If that is not possible, could the rule be read down so as to avoid insistence on these ? If that too is not possible, could the rules be struck down as violating the right of equality? The last of these courses need be considered only if the Court is compelled to read the rules as calling for insistence on a surety bond or cash security in all cases and that rule is not capable of being read down in the manner indicated. It is always the function of the Court to construe a rule reasonably and if the provision could be upheld even by reading it down to attempt to do so rather than demolish the same by holding it as unconstitutional.
7. This country has since long awakened to the need of a considerate approach in mattes where weaker sections of the society are involved so as to make the guarantee of equal opportunity a reality. Provisions of statutes and rules leaving on arena for exercise of discretion to authorities have always been understood as calling for such exercise on the part of the authorities as will render their functioning constitutional. If discretion is conferred ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 12 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 on a authority to waiver the requirements of the rules such waiver would be justified to promote the concept of constitutional protection more than anything else. Rule 6 of the furlough rules envisages the availability of a relative willing to receive the prisoner while on furlough and his readiness to enter into a surety bond in Form A for such amount as may be fixed by the Sanctioning Authority. Rule 10 contemplates execution of a personal bond by the prisoner or giving cash security in Form C and also execution of a surety bond in Form A which is the bond referred to in rule 6. Therefore, the requirement of Rule 6 is also embodied in Rule 10. While Rule 6 refers to the readiness to enter into a surety bond in Form A Rule 10 deals with the actual furnishing of the surety bond in Form A. Therefore the two things that have to be done under Rule 10 to enable release to be ordered are (a) personal bond or cash security in Form C, and (b) surety bond in Form A. The first of these a prisoner may be able to do by executing a personal bond. Of course if in respect of a prisoner who is unable to furnish cash security the Sanctioning Authority insists upon such cash security it will be an erroneous, improper and unfair exercise by him. It will be equally unfair if, despite the circumstances eloquently speaking to the impecunious situation of the Prisoner, the Sanctioning Authority insists on proof of it. A person in prison is under a great disadvantage and particularly so if he has no friends or competent relatives to help him out. There is no reason why when he pleads his poverty and if there is no material to disbelieve his case of poverty the Sanctioning Authority should not accept it in the normal course and release him on his personal bond. In other words where the Sanctioning Authority has no reason or no material to positively assume that the man could furnish cash security the sanctioning Authority would be obliged to release him on his personal bond. That is how Rule 10 must be understood as to the first requirement. In the case before us there is no insistence upon cash security. The prisoner has been permitted either to give cash security or personal bond. He could execute the personal bond, but what he is ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 13 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 worried about and concerned with is the second requirement, viz. the execution of a surety bond in Form A. He has none to stand surety.
8. Rule 10, it may be noticed, qualifies the conditions under which the Sanctioning Authority is to grant furlough by the words "if so required".
This is quite significant and evidently the relevance of this was not brought to the notice of the learned Judges of the Division Bench on the earlier occasion. The words "if so required" cast a duty and obligation on the Sanctioning Authority to consider whether the case requires waiver of the insistence on the execution of a surety bond. The appropriate justification for such waiver would be where, as in this case, a person is, by reason of his penury and his absence of influence in society, unable to furnish a surety bond. As Krishna Iyer, J.
said, though in a different context, in the context of bail, in Moti Ram v. State of Madhya Pradesh, "affluents do not befriend indigents". Hence Rule 10 has to be read and understood as justifying the Sanctioning Authority in waiving the insistence upon a surety bond in cases such as that of the prisoner here.
10) In the case of Bhimrao Nathuji Bhoyar v.
Superintendent, Amravati Central Prison, 2003 Bom C.R. (Cri.) 477, the learned Single Judge of the Bombay High Court has referred to the case of Natia Jiria (cited supra). In the facts of the said case the learned Single Judge directed the authorities to grant furlough to the petitioner therein and release, on his executing personal bond in the sum as might be thought fit in the ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 14 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 circumstances without insisting on the petitioner's furnishing a surety.
The learned counsel submitted that in the light of the specific proviso to rule 6 of the Rules of 1959 a discretion is conferred on the sanctioning authority to release prisoner on furlough by dispensing with requirement of furnishing a surety bond in Form A appended to the Rules of 1959. As regards the release of a prisoner on parole it was submitted that though there is no specific provision like rule 6 of the Rules of 1959 in respect of prisoners who are to be released on furlough but considering the provisions of the of the Rules of 1959, more precisely rules 10 and 28, it could be held that the sanctioning authority does have a discretion to dispense with condition of furnishing of suety bond even in respect of prisoners who are to be released on parole.
11) Learned counsel Smt. Sharda Chate adopted the arguments of learned counsel Shri. Sanap.
::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 15 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 201012) The learned Amicus Curiae, Shri. Chatterji submitted that in the light of the judgment of the Full Bench of the Gujarat High Court in the case of Natia Jiria, rule 6 of the Rules of 1959 could be read in rule 10 and in the light of the provisions of Rule 10 and Rule 28 of the Rules of 1959 it could be held that even prisoners who are to be released on parole could be released by the Sanctioning Authority in a given set of circumstances by dispensing with the requirement of furnishing surety bond.
As regards furlough the counsel supported the submissions of Shri. Sanap. In the view of the counsel, proviso to rule 6 was not brought to the notice of the Division Bench at Nagpur and considering the judgment of the Apex Court in Darvakar (supra) the order passed by the Division Bench at Nagpur would be per incuriam.
13) The learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Smt. R.K. Ladda, submitted that upon considering the provisions of the rules, the judgments cited supra it could be reasonably construed and interpreted that discretion to dispense with requirement of furnishing of surety bond could be exercised in the case of prisoners who are to be ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 16 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 released on furlough and parole both. In respect of cases where prisoner is to be released on parole the APP submitted that the conditions stipulated in rule 24 of the Rules of 1959 are to be followed but in deserving cases the authority is entitled to exercise discretion in dispensing with requirement to furnish surety bond.
14) We have considered the submissions advanced by the learned counsel for the parties, perused the relevant provisions of the prison law and the judgments cited supra.
15) We may make a useful reference to para 3 of the judgment of the Apex Court in Hussainara Khotoon v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar, Patna, AIR 1979 SC 1360.
"3. Now, one reason why our legal and judicial system continually denies justice to the poor by keeping them for long years in pretrial detention is our highly unsatisfactory bail system. It suffers from a property oriented approach which seems to proceed on the erroneous assumption that risk of monetary loss is the only deterrent against fleeing from justice. The Code of Criminal Procedure, even after its re-enactment, continues to adopt the same ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 17 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 antiquated approach as the earlier Code enacted towards the end of the last century and where an accused is to be released on his personal bond, it insists that the bond should contain a monetary obligation requiring the accused to pay a sum of money in case he fails to appear at the trial. Moreover, as if this were not sufficient deterrent to the poor the courts mechanically and as a matter of course insist that the accused should produce sureties who will stand bail for him and these sureties must again establish their solvency to be able to pay up the amount of the bail in case the accused fails to appear to answer the charge. This system of bails operates very harshly against the poor and it is only the non-poor who are able to take advantage of it by getting themselves released on bail. The poor find it difficult to furnish bail even without sureties because very often the amount of the bail fixed by the courts is to unrealistically excessive that in a majority of cases the poor are unable to satisfy the police or the Magistrate about their solvency for the amount of the bail and where the bail is with sureties as is usually the cases, it becomes an almost impossible task for the poor to find persons sufficiently solvent to stand as sureties.
The result is that either they are fleeced by the police and revenue officials or by touts and professional sureties and sometimes they have even to incur debts for securing their release or, being unable to obtain release, they have to remain in jail until such time as the court is able to take up their cases for trial, leading to grave consequences, namely, (1) though presumed innocent, they are subjected to psychological and physical privations of jail life, (2) they are prevented from contributing to the preparation of their defence and (3) they lose their job, if they have one, and are deprived of an opportunity to work to support themselves and their family members with the result that the burden of their detention almost invariably falls heavily on the innocent members of the family. It is here that the poor find our legal and judicial system oppressive and heavily weighed against them and a feeling of frustration and despair occurs upon them as they find that they are helplessly in a position of inequality with the non-poor. ...... "::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 18 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010
16) From the order passed by the Division Bench at Nagpur we can gather that the proviso to Rule 6 of the Rules of 1959 was not brought to the notice of the Division Bench. In our considered view the Division Bench has not properly appreciated the judgment delivered by the Apex Court in the case of Darvakar (cited supra). The Apex Court did not observe that the proviso to Rule 6 of the Rules of 1959 is not required to be considered by the sanctioning authority while releasing a prisoner on furlough.
17) In our considered view the Apex Court in the case of Darvakar has not held that, the sanctioning authority does not have discretion to dispense with requirement of execution of bond for releasing a prisoner confined in open prison.
18) As regards the prisoners who are to be released on parole, Rule 24 of the Rules of 1959 stipulates conditions subject to which prisoner may be granted parole. Rule 28 of the Rules of 1959 speaks that provisions ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 19 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 of Rules 8(5), 10,11 and 12 of the Rules of 1959 shall mutatis mutandis apply in the case of release of prisoners on parole.
19) In Black's Law Dictionary, mutatis mutandis is defined thus :
"All necessary changes having been made; with the necessary changes;
ig what was said regarding the first contract applies mutatis mutandis to all later ones."
In the law of Lexicon by P Ramanatha Aiyar, second edition, Reprint 2007, phrase "mutatis mutandis" was defined as under :
"With necessary changes in points of detail. With such change as may be necessary.
Phrase "mutatis mutandis" is used in legislation in applying or extending legislative provisions to same or similar circumstances or to same or similar subjects.
20) Rule 6 of the rules of 1959 contemplates that a relative would furnish a surety bond in Form A for such amount as may be fixed by the sanctioning authority who is ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 20 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 willing to receive the prisoner while on furlough. Rule 10 of the Rules of 1959 envisages that the sanctioning authority shall grant furlough to prisoner subject to his executing personal bond or giving cash security in Form and also subject to a surety executing a bond in Form A appended to these rules, if so required. We are convinced and in agreement with the view of the Full Bench of the Gujarat High Court in observing that requirement of rule 6 is also embodied in rule 10. While rule 6 refers to readiness to enter into a surety bond in Form A, rule 10 deals with actual furnishing surety bond in Form A. Rule 10 of the Rules of 1959 was mutatis mutandis applied in cases of releasing a prisoner on parole. It could be reasonably construed and interpreted that "if so required"
the sanctioning authority would insist on a prisoner furnishing of surety by executing a bond in Form A appended to the rules. In other words, the sanctioning authority has a discretion in the given facts and circumstances of a case to release prisoner on parole by dispensing with requirement of furnishing surety bond in Form A appended to the rules.
::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 21 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 201021) There is another angle to the problem. We have experienced in many cases and even officers instructing the Additional Public Prosecutor present in Court state that the execution of surety bond by the relatives is normally in the sum of Rs.2000 and in case prisoner does not report or surrender to the jail authorities in time or overstays the leave period without getting extension then the first step the jail authorities take is to forfeit the amount under surety bond and intimate police that the prisoner shall be arrested and brought before the jail authorities. We have noticed in many matters that even forfeiting the sum assured in the surety bond by the jail authorities is not working as a deterrent against prisoners who overstay leave period or have not surrendered to jail authorities for years.
22) We had asked the learned Additional Public Prosecutor to furnish details in respect of prisoners from Harsul Central Jail Aurangabad and the Open District Prison Paithan who have not surrendered to jail authorities after their release on furlough or parole. The information is ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 22 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010 furnished in the form of charts which is really disturbing.
In the case of release on furlough 30 prisoners have not reported back after release, out of which twelve were confined in Open Prison Paithan. In respect of prisoners, who were on parole, 26 prisoners lodged in Central Prison Harsul did not surrender and it is informed that some of the prisoners who were confined in open prison released on furlough were released on personal bond whereas the prisoners who were confined in Harsul Central Jail were released mostly on furnishing their surety bond. We have collected these figures just to highlight practical implications of the rules in execution of orders of release by the sanctioning authority.
23) In the light of the discussion made above, we hold that as per the proviso to rule 6 of the Rules 1959 a convict confined in open prison can be released on furlough by the sanctioning authority by dispensing with the requirement of execution of bond by the relatives.
::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 ::: 23 Cri. W.P. Nos.848 & 954 of 2010We hold that a convict confined in open prison can be released on parole by the authorities by dispensing with requirement of execution of bond by the relatives.
24) The reference is answered accordingly. The Registry is directed to place these petitions before appropriate Court for deciding the same in accordance with law.
Sd/-
(NARESH H PATIL, J.) Sd/-
(A.V. NIRGUDE, J.) Sd/-
(T.V. NALAWADE, J.) ::: Downloaded on - 09/06/2013 17:15:02 :::