Delhi High Court - Orders
Akbar @ Ganja Sb Sabir (Presently ... vs The State (Govt. Of Nct) Of Delhi on 6 February, 2023
Author: Jasmeet Singh
Bench: Jasmeet Singh
$~44
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(CRL) 2971/2022
AKBAR @ GANJA SB SABIR (PRESENTLY CONFINED IN
CENTRAL JAIL NO.14, MANDOLI, NEW DELHI)
..... Petitioner
Through: Mr Aman Panwar, Adv. (DHCLSC)
with Mr Shivam Singh Baghel, Adv.
versus
THE STATE (GOVT. OF NCT) OF DELHI ..... Respondent
Through: Mr Sanjeev Bhandari, ASC for State
with Mr Kunal Mittal and Mr Saurabh
Tanwar, Advs.
Inspector Sumit Kumar, PS-Moti
Nagar
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASMEET SINGH
ORDER
% 06.02.2023
1. This is a petition seeking quashing of rejection order No. F.18/11/2020/HG/3198 dated 22.11.2022 passed by the respondent.
2. In the present case, the parole application of the petitioner was rejected for violation of Rule 1210 (4) sub rule (IV) of the Delhi Prisons Rules - 2018. The operative portion of the rejection order reads as under:
"1210 sub rule (IV):- "The convict should not have violated any terms and conditions of the parole or furlough granted previously." In this case, the above said convict was released on 02 weeks parole w.e.f. 30.07.2020 to 12.08.2020 granted by the Hon‟'ble High Court of Delhi, thereafter same was extended time Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed byAMIT ARORA Signing Date:09.02.2023 10:46:32 to time by Hon‟ble Court and surrendered dated fixed for 15.03.2021, but said convict surrendered late by one month i.e. on 15.04.2921."
3. Mr Panwar, learned counsel for the petitioner relies on Rule 1210 (II) and Rule 1271 of the Delhi Prisons Rules, 2018, which read as under:
"Rule 1210 sub rule (II):- The conduct of the Prisoner who has been awarded major punishment for any prison offence should have been uniformly good for last two years from the date of application and the conduct of the Prisoner who has been awarded minor punishment or no punishment for any prison offence in prison should have been uniformly good for last one year from the date of application.
1271. The following punishment(s) may be awarded by the Superintendent to prisoners for committing any prison offence. These are classified into minor punishments and major punishments.
(a) Minor Punishments I. Formal warning which shall be personally addressed to the prisoner by the Superintendent and recorded in the punishment book.
II. Loss of privileges given to the prisoners in detention for a maximum of one month III. Forfeiture of earned remission up to ten days.
b) Major Punishments I. Forfeiture of remission up to a period of thirty days at any one time or with the approval of the Inspector General remove a prisoner from the remission system up to a period of six months; Provided that the Inspector General shall have power to forfeit all earned remissions, other than remissions given by the Government, or to remove a prisoner Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed byAMIT ARORA Signing Date:09.02.2023 10:46:32 from the remission system for the entire period of his imprisonment; II. Stoppage of recreational facilities up to a period of one month or canteen facilities for a period of 1 month or stoppage of interviews for a period of up to three months;
III. In case of breaches and violations in conditions of release on parole or furlough, not counting the said period towards imprisonment.
IV. Segregation up to a period of three months and with the sanction of the Inspector General, up to a period of six months.
V. Monitoring under watch and security VI. In case of any damage to Government property, recovery of cost for such damage after proper enquiry effective with judicial appraisal VII. Inmate calling system stoppage up to 1 month VIII. Forfeiture of recovered/seized money"
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner states that as per Nominal Roll, the petitioner was only issued a warning by SCJ-14 for one month late surrender and in view of clear reading of Rule 1271, "Formal Warning" comes within the ambit of minor punishment. Hence, the uniform good behaviour for the petitioner only has to be for one year. Even on merits, it is stated by Mr Panwar that the petitioner did not know the date of surrender.
5. Mr Bhandari, learned ASC states that in the present case, the petitioner had violated the terms and conditions of parole previously granted and hence, his application was rejected.
6. I am of the view that once the factum of issuance of warning comes within the purview of Rule 1271(a) I and is within the ambit of minor punishment, the good conduct of the petitioner is only required to be seen for one year. In the present case, on the date the application was rejected i.e. Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed byAMIT ARORA Signing Date:09.02.2023 10:46:32 22.11.2022, the applicant had good conduct for one year preceding the said date. The warning was issued to the petitioner only on 16.04.2021, hence, the petitioner is squarely covered within Rule 1271(a) I and 1210 (II) of the Delhi Prisons Rules - 2018.
7. For the reasons stated above, the petitioner is granted parole for a period of four weeks from the date of his release in order to maintain social ties with his family and society subject to following conditions:
(a) The petitioner shall furnish a personal bond in the sum of Rs. 10,000/-
(Rupees Ten Thousand Only) with 01 local surety in the like amount from a family member, to the satisfaction of the Jail Superintendent;
(b) The petitioner shall furnish to the concerned S.H.O. a cellphone number on which the petitioner may be contacted at any time and shall ensure that the number is kept active and switched-on at all times;
(c) If the petitioner has a passport, he shall surrender the same to the Jail Superintendent;
(d) The petitioner shall not indulge in any act or omission that is unlawful or that would prejudice the proceedings in pending cases, if any;
(e) Upon expiry of the period of parole, the petitioner shall surrender before the Jail Superintendent.
8. The application is disposed of accordingly.
9. The order be communicated to Deputy Secretary (Home) as well as to the concerned Jail Superintendent.
JASMEET SINGH, J FEBRUARY 6, 2023/sr Click here to check corrigendum, if any Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed byAMIT ARORA Signing Date:09.02.2023 10:46:32