Delhi High Court - Orders
Sanjay vs State Of Nct Of Delhi on 20 November, 2023
Author: Amit Bansal
Bench: Amit Bansal
$~47
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(CRL) 2728/2023
SANJAY ..... Petitioner
Through: Mr. Rohan J. Alva (DHCLSC),
Advocate.
versus
STATE OF NCT OF DELHI ..... Respondent
Through: Ms. Rupali Bandhopadhya, ASC for
State with Mr. Akshay Kumar and
Mr. Abhijeet Kumar, Advocates.
SI Mohit, PS Aman Vihar.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT BANSAL
ORDER
% 20.11.2023
1. The present petition has been filed seeking quashing of the order dated 12th September, 2023 passed by the respondent whereby the request for grant of furlough has been declined. The operative part of the impugned order is set out below:-
"In this regard, I am directed to inform you that the Competent Authority has considered the application for grant of furlough and same has been declined at this stage in view of nature of crime committed by him, police report, unavailability of report of probation officer."
2. The petitioner was prosecuted pursuant to registration of FIR No.1452/2014 under Sections 506/342 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO).
W.P.(CRL) 2728/2023 Page 1 of 3This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 20/11/2023 at 23:19:03
3. The Trial Court convicted the petitioner for offence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Sections 506/342 of the IPC and awarded him rigorous imprisonment of 10 years for the offence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act along with a fine.
4. Counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Atbir v. State (NCT of Delhi), 2022 SCC OnLine SC 527, as well as the recent judgment of a Coordinate Bench of this Court in Gopi Nisha Mallah v. State of NCT of Delhi, 2023 SCC OnLine Del 7182.
5. I have heard the counsels for the parties and perused the material on record.
6. In Atbir (supra), the Supreme Court has held that even a convict who has been awarded life imprisonment shall be entitled to furlough if his conduct in jail has been good and he fulfils other eligibility requirements. It was further observed that furlough is an incentive towards good jail conduct.
7. In Gopi Nisha Mallah (supra), the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court was dealing with a case where grant of furlough was rejected taking into account the nature of the offence committed by the petitioner. Taking into account the conduct of the petitioner in jail, the petitioner was granted furlough.
8. The aforesaid judgments have been followed by me in the order dated 16th November, 2023 in W.P.(CRL) 2745/2023 titled Kali Charan @ Kalka Prasad v. State of NCT of Delhi.
9. In the present case, as per the Nominal Roll on record, the petitioner has completed almost the entire sentence. His conduct in jail has been satisfactory. Further, he has been granted parole on two previous occasions and he had duly surrendered in time.
W.P.(CRL) 2728/2023 Page 2 of 3This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 20/11/2023 at 23:19:03
10. In view of the above, this Court is of the view that there is no impediment in granting furlough to the petitioner. Therefore, the petitioner is granted furlough for a period of three weeks from the date of release, upon furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs.10,000/- with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Jail Superintendent and further subject to the following conditions:
i. During the period of furlough, the petitioner shall report to the Station House Officer (SHO), Police Station Aman Vihar, Delhi, physically twice a week.
ii. The petitioner shall also provide the SHO, Police Station Aman Vihar, Delhi with his mobile/telephone number(s) which shall be kept in working condition at all times and shall not switch off or change the mobile number(s) without prior intimation to the SHO concerned. iii. The petitioner shall not leave the country during the period of furlough without the prior permission of this Court. iv. The petitioner shall not indulge in any criminal activity and shall not communicate with or come in contact with the complainant/victim or any member of the complainant/victim's family. v. The petitioner is directed to surrender before the jail authorities immediately upon the expiry of the period of furlough.
11. Copy of this order be sent to the Jail Superintendent for information and necessary compliance.
12. The petition stands disposed of in terms of the above.
AMIT BANSAL, J.
NOVEMBER 20, 2023 at W.P.(CRL) 2728/2023 Page 3 of 3 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 20/11/2023 at 23:19:04