BALKAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the Code) read with Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India relates to grant of premature release to the petitioner, a teenager, who was arrested in a case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code on 11th of December, 1983 and was convicted and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life for the said offence on 10th of September, 1984.

(2.) ACCORDING to the petitioner, he has already undergone more than 7 years and 4 months of actual sentence and earned remissions of five years and one month. It was further pleaded that the petitioner filed mercy petition under Article 161 of the Constitution of India on 12th of June, 1990 G. S. Chahal, vide order dated 18th of January, 1991 directed the State to consider the mercy petition of the petitioner within three months. The said mercy petition was declined by the State vide order Annexure P/7 dated 30th of August, 1991 on the basis of new instructions issued by the State Government dated 8th of July, 1991.

(3.) IN somewhat similar circumstances, B. S. Nehra, J. vide his order dated 4th of December, 1991 in Zora Singh v. State of Punjab and anr., in Criminal Misc. No. 11317M of 1991, directed the State to consider the case of convict for premature release in the light of instructions/guidelines issued by it which were prevalent prior to 18th of May, 1991 i.e. the period upto which this Court had directed the State to consider the case for premature release of the said convict. The aforesaid authority is fully applicable and covers case of the petitioner as well.