AJMER SINGH Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is Crl. Misc. Petition No. 7529-M of 1999 filed under Section 482, Cr. P. C. read with Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India whereby Ajmer Singh petitioner is praying for the issuance of writ, order or direction to the respondents to grant him all special remissions and count them towards the sentence including State Government remissions and Director General Prisons, Remissions granted to other convicts during the period he was on bail and also to credit and count all actual remissions earned by the petitioner while confined in jail prior to his release on bail as per entries recorded on the original old History Ticket of the petitioner alongwith days' already passed and further to determine final date of release accordingly of the petitioner.

(2.) It is alleged by the petitioner that he was awarded seven years imprisonment by Sessions Judge, Ambala on 21-8-1993 in case FIR No. 6 dated 17-8-1992 under Section 304 (II) , IPC. Conviction and sentence was upheld by the High Court. In Crl. Appeal No. 2002 of 1996 filed before the Hon'ble Supreme Court, conviction was upheld but the sentence was reduced to five years R. I. He is undergoing the said unexpired portion of sentence as slashed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Central Jail, Ambala. On 12-9-1994, in appeal before the High Court, the sentence passed upon him by the learned Sessions Judge, was suspended. On 12-3-1997, the sentence passed upon him by the High Court was suspended by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. On 17-10-1996 he surrendered in jail in the wake of dismissal of his appeal by the High Court. He surrendered on 9-3-1998 in the wake of dismissal of his appeal but reduction in sentence by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. During the period the sentence passed upon him remained suspended either in view of the order of the High Court or in view of the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The State Government and the Director General of Prisons awarded certain general remissions of sentences of convicts including on 26-1-92, 26-1-93/29-4-93, 14-8-95, 14-8-96, 31-10-96 and 15-10-97. These remissions have been credited into the account of other convicts including those convicts who had been released on parole and furlough. These remissions have been denied to the petitioner. It is alleged that denial of these remissions to the petitioner is illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory. It is alleged that he is entitled to the credit of all State Government's and Director General of Prisons' remissions awarded generally to convicts even while on bail as the petitioner's sentences have only been suspended, he still remained a convict. In addition to the State Government and Director General of Prisons' Remissions, he is entitled to the credit of the days of imprisonment already passed by him in jail prior to his release on bail along with the remissions earned by the petitioner during that period of imprisonment and recorded on the original old History Ticket of the petitioner which is in custody of the jail authorities. The days already passed and actual remissions earned by the convict petitioner have also not been so far counted by the respondents towards the period of imprisonment undergone by the petitioner.

(3.) I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner. Petitioner cannot be allowed special remissions granted by the State Government and Director General of Prisons during the period when the petitioner was on bail. Support for this view can be had in Jai Parkash v. State of Haryana, AIR 1987 SC 2225, where it was observed that a prisoner is not eligible for remissions of sentence during the period he is on bail or his sentence is temporarily suspended. The submission that the petitioners who were temporarily released on bail are entitled to get the remission earned during the period they were on bail was repelled. It was observed that the special remissions granted by the Governor of Haryana to only those persons, who were in confinement on 14-8-1977 on the occasion of the first visit of the Chief Minister of Haryana to jail and not to those who were already on bail and were not in jail on 14-8-1977 was held to be a good order. Facts of the case were that Jai Parkash petitioner No. 1 was convicted by Sessions Judge, Bhiwani on 4-12-1975 under Section 302 of the IPC and was sentence to life imprisonment. Against this judgment and order of the learned Sessions Judge, he went in appeal in the High Court. On 12-1-1976, he was granted bail by the High Court. On 28-9-1978, however, the appeal was dismissed and he was arrested on 29-1-1979 when he was going to the Court to surrender himself to serve out the remaining part of the sentence as stated by him. He claimed that during the period he was on bail, he earned remissions to the tune of 19 months and 12 days. Similarly, petitioners 2 to 5 were convicted by Sessions Judge, Bhiwani on 23-3-1976 in a murder case and were convicted to life imprisonment. They were directed to be released on bail by the High Court during the pendency of their appeal by order dated 7-4-1976. The appeal was dismissed by the High Court on 8-12-1978 and they surrendered before the Magistrate on 16-2-1979 for serving out their remaining part of their sentence. Petitioners 2 to 5 claimed that they had earned remissions to the tune of 19 months and 12 days during the period they were on bail. They filed Criminal Writ Petition before the Hon'ble Supreme Court claiming these remissions,which they had earned during the period they were on bail. The writ petition was dismissed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court on taking this view that convicts who were on bail and whose sentence have been suspended are excluded from the remission system in view of the provisions of para 637 of the Punjab Jail Manual. In view of the observations of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in AIR 1987 SC 2225 (supra) , the petitioner is not entitled to claim special remissions including State Government's remissions and Director General of Prisons' Remissions granted during the period when he was on bail pending his appeal. He is, however, entitled to credit and count all the remissions earned by him when he was in jail prior to his release on bail as per entries recorded on the original old History Ticket of the petitioner along with days already passed. Respondents are directed to determine the petitioner's final date of release from the jail after giving him credit of all those remissions which he had actually earned prior to his release on bail pending his appeal when he was in jail as per entries recorded on the original old History Ticket of the petitioner along with the days already passed in imprisonment as a convict prior to his release on bail. This Criminal Misc. Petition is disposed of accordingly.