Case title:
Ravdeep Kaur V. The State of Punjab & Ors.
Date of Order:
29th September, 2023
Bench:
Hon'ble Justice Deepak Gupta
Parties:
Petitioner: Ravdeep Kaur
Respondent: State of Punjab & ors.
SUBJECT
The court granted the convict a pre mature release as he completed more than twice the minimum sentence needed.
IMPORTANT PROVISIONS
Section 302 of IPC- Punishment for murder
Section 120B of IPC- Punishment of criminal conspiracy
OVERVIEW
In a case stemming from a FIR filed at Police Station Civil Lines, Patiala, the petitioner and a certain Manjeet Singh were found guilty under Sections 302 and 120B of the IPC by the Court of ld. Additional Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, in a judgment dated March 28, 2012.
For committing the aforementioned offense under Section 302 read with Section 120B IPC, the petitioner and co-convict were sentenced to "undergo imprisonment for life, which would extend to their full lives" and to pay fines of 50,000/- each with default sentence.
ISSUES RAISED
Whether the convict was eligible for pre mature release?
ARGUMENTS ADVANCED BY THE APPELLANT
- The learned council argued that according to the policies for early release established by the State of Punjab, the petitioner has already experienced more than double the amount of real custody time required for premature release under Article 161 of the Indian Constitution.
ARGUMENTS ADVANCED BY THE RESPONDENT
- it is submitted that as per the premature release policy of the Government of Punjab, there is no provision for such prisoners to grant the benefit of premature release, where the Court has awarded punishment till death or imprisonment till natural life and therefore, premature release case of the petitioner cannot be initiated by the office of Superintendent Central Jail, Patiala.
JUDGEMENT ANALYSIS
- The court concluded that the petitioner had already served more than twice the minimum sentence needed by the 2011 policy, and the current petition is therefore granted. The respondent-authorities are hereby instructed to take into account the petitioner's premature release case.
- It was further ordered that she be released on interim bail upon submitting the necessary bonds to the satisfaction of the ld. CJM concerned until the judgment respecting the petitioner's premature release as per this order is made by the appropriate authorities.
CONCLUSION
- The idea of reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of the prisoner back into society is the foundation for the concept of premature release of a convicted prisoner. This is based on the prisoner's behavior while they were there.
- Simply put, parole is the early conditional provisional release of an inmate with the requirement that they abide by the rules and respect those boundaries in order to reap the benefits of returning to society and engaging in social activities with family and friends while keeping the correctional model in mind and preparing to resume their social lives.
According to the Indian Constitution and rules, prisoners who have served at least 14 years in prison cannot be released early, with the exception of those who have committed severe crimes like rape and murde
