ASIF Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE three petitions seeking writ of Habeas Corpus came to be moved at the instance of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative having come to know in their interaction with prisoners that the three convicts lodged in Presidency C.H i.e. Tapas Ghosh and in Howrah District C.H. Alik Mondal and Md. Asif are undergoing sentence in the respective cases wherein they were found guilty and sentenced to suffer imprisonment.

(2.) IT is the contention of the petitioners that all the three petitioners have a common grievance in respect of non2 inclusion of their period of detention as an undertrial prisoners while calculating their term of imprisonment and, therefore, it is their apprehension that they may be required to undergo imprisonment without getting advantage/benefit of set-off. The petitioners were under an impression that the prisoners have actually undergone the period of sentence if they are given the set-off to which they are entitled but the Superintendent, Presidency CCH and Howrah District Correctional Home are not in a position to consider their request for the reason that the records are not available as regards the period they were detained as undertrial prisoners so as to give them benefit of set-off. The reason given is that the record and proceedings of the trial reflecting the period spent in detention as an undertrial prisoners has been irretrievably lost/damaged due to fire that broke out in the Correctional Home.

(3.) THEREFORE, in case of convict Alik Mondal who has been convicted for having committed offence under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code by Special Court cum-Additional District & Sessions Judge, 4th Court, Howrah for a period of 10 years rigorous imprisonment and is currently detained as prisoner in Presidency, Correctional Home and his sentence is calculated as under :