RAM CHANDER Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petition under Article 32 of the Constitution has been instituted by a convict, who is undergoing a sentence of imprisonment for life upon being convicted for the commission of offences punishable, inter alia, under Sec. 302 read with Sec. 149 of the Indian Penal Code("IPC"). He seeks the issuance of a writ directing the first respondent to grant him pre-mature release. The factual background has been set out below.

(2.) The petitioner and co-accused came in a tractor carrying deadly weapons and assaulted the complainant and killed his father and brother, when they were sitting near a village pond along with other villagers. The cause of the enmity between the parties was the confiscation of shisham wood belonging to one of the co-accused by the forest department and the damage caused to his motorcycle and tractor, for which the accused persons suspected the complainant and his family. The trial court(ST No 16/2006) convicted the petitioner and the other accused on 7/12/2010. The petitioner was convicted of offences under Ss. 147, 148, 302/149 and 324/149 of the IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment. While a charge was also framed under Sec. 3(2) (5) of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes Act 1989 since the complainant and his family belonged to a Scheduled Caste, the trial court acquitted all the accused of the charge because no evidence was found to show that the complainant or the deceased were humiliated or intimidated on the basis of their caste. The sentence was confirmed by the High Court of Chhattisgarh(Criminal Appeal No. 933/2010) on 10/5/2013. Aggrieved by the judgement of the High Court, the petitioner preferred a special leave petition(Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 1348-49 of 2015) before this Court which was dismissed.

(3.) On 25/9/2021, the petitioner completed 16 years of imprisonment without remission and submitted an application for premature release to the respondent under Rule 358 of the Chhattisgarh Prisons Rule 1968("Prison Release Rules"). Rule 358 provides thus: