SAT PAL ALIAS SADHU Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Sat Pal alias Sadhu, the petitioner, has challenged his continued detention in jail and is seeking an order in the nature of habeas corpus claiming that he has served more than the maximum sentence of imprisonment prescribed under law and should, therefore, be released.

(2.) The petitioner was arrested on March 27, 1978 in a case registered under Section 302 Indian Penal Code. He was convicted on August 16, 1978 and was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. According to the petitioner he has undergone about 13 years and six months actual imprisonment and total period of imprisonment including remissions comes to more than 17 years. Admittedly his sentence has not been remitted fully nor commuted for imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years either under Section 55, Indian Penal Code or under Section 433B, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 by the appropriate government. However, the petitioner's case (supra) is that he has undergone more than 14 years sentence including remissions and since the said sentence was got executed in jail custody in the form of rigorous imprisonment, the government must be deemed to have commuted his sentence to 14 years either under Section 55, Indian Penal Code or Section 433(B), Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 notwithstanding that no formal order in that behalf was made by the State Government and as such his continued detention in jail is illegal and he is entitled to be released forthwith. The argument has been advanced by Mr. Balwant Singh Malik, the learned counsel for the petitioner on the following grounds:

(3.) The arguments advanced by the learned counsel stand concluded against him by the judgment of this Court in Naib Singh v. State of Punjab, (1983) 2 SCC 454. In the said case Naib Singh challenged his continued detention in jail on the following grounds:-