HARCHAND SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a petition filed by Harchand Singh, a life convict, under Articles 226/277 of the Constitution of India praying that the jail punishments awarded to him by the Superintendent, Central Jail, Ferozepur, on 11.7.19789 and 13.11.1981 be quashed as the same were awarded without obtaining judicial appraisal of the Sessions Judge concerned.

(2.) AFTER hearing the learned Counsel for the parties. I am of the considered view that the impugned orders passed by the Superintendent, Central jail, Ferozepur, are liable to be quashed on the short ground that the same were passed without the judicial appraisal of the Sessions Judge is violation of the mandatory directions issued by the Supreme Court in Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration, 1980(3) SC 448, that no punishment or denial of privileges and amenities shall be imposed upon the prisoner without judicial appraisal of the Sessions Judge and where such intimation on account of emergency is difficult, such information shall be given within two days of action. Similar view was taken in Rakesh Kaushik v. B.L. Vig. Superintendent Central Jail, New Delhi and another, 1980 SCC (Crl.) 834.