YOVEHEL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These writ petitions have been placed before us pursuant to the reference order of the Division Bench of this Court (Coram: T.V. Nalawade and Mangesh S. Patil, JJ.) dated 12.3.2019 in criminal writ petition No. 273 of 2019 with other connected writ petitions. In all these writ petitions, the petitioners original convicts have claimed the benefit of the State remission for three months, in terms of the Government Resolution dated 3.6.2017. The reference has been occasioned as the learned counsel for the petitioners, in those writ petitions placed reliance on the decision given by the Division Bench of this Court (Coram: R.M. Borde and Mangesh S. Patil, JJ.) in criminal writ petition No. 1254 of 2018 (Vitthal Ganpat Parekar (C-93) vs. the State of Maharashtra and another) dated 21.09.2018 in criminal writ petition No. 1123 of 2018 (Laxman Keshav Mali (C6205) vs. State of Maharashtra and another) dated 7.9.2018. In the aforesaid writ petitions, the Division Bench, by referring the Government Resolution dated 3.6.2017 which provides remission to the extent of three months on account of 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, held that except the prisoners who squarely falls in the categories as mentioned in the said Government Resolution, rest of the prisoners are entitled to the benefit of remission under the Government Resolution. The Division Bench also held that the opinion expressed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge in ignorance of or by overlooking the Government Resolution is faulty and needs to be corrected.

(2.) The Division Bench headed by Justice T.V. Nalawade in Criminal writ petition No. 273 of 2019 and other connected criminal writ petitions in the order dated 12.3.2019 not agreeing with the observations made in earlier two writ petitions, as stated above, referred the following questions to the Larger Bench:-

(3.) In all the aforesaid writ petitions, the petitioners, who have been convicted for life imprisonment, claim entitlement of the State remission for three months on account of 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and they have been denied the remission as the concerned Sessions Judge/Presiding Judge of the court has given his opinion in negative. The Sessions Judge/Presiding Judge of the court has given his opinion that the remission as claimed by the petitioners should be refused.