UMESH PRASAD SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE meaningful question referred for an authoritative decision has been formulated in the terms following by the Division Bench : -

(2.) THE facts giving rise to the question are not in dispute and lie in a narrow compass. Umesh Prasad Singh, writ petitioner, claims to have been born in his native village at Painal, on 31st Jan. 1959, and, at the material time, was a student of the local High School at the village aforesaid. He, along with his father, brother and other agnates of his family, was brought to trial before the Court of session on the charge of murder for an occurrence on 6th July, 1975. He was convicted on the said charge and sentenced to death along with his brother, whilst the rest were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life by the judgment of the First Additional Sessions Judge, Patna, dt. 31st March 1977. On appeal, this High Court, by its judgment dt.26th No 1977, upheld the conviction of the writ petitioner, but did not confirm the death sentence and commuted the same to a sentence of life imprisonment. The writ petitioner had surrendered on 11th July, 1975, before the Sub -divisional Judicial Magistrate, Dinapore, and, both as an undertrial prisoner and subsequently as a convict, had remained in custody. Thereafter, on 12th November 1982, the petitioner addressed a communication to the Inspector General of Prisons, Bihar, claiming that since at the time of the commission of the offence, he has below 20 years of age and had undergone ten years of sentence, including remissions, he was entitled to claim that the remaining part of his sentence be remitted. Latter, on 21st Sept. 1983, the Superintendent, Bankipore Central Jail, Patna, where the writ petitioner was confined, recommended the petitioner's case for premature release, as his conduct in the jail was wholly satisfactory and that there was no grievance of any other kind against him (vide Annexure '7' to the writ petition). However, the writ petitioner was not released from custody. He then preferred the present writ petition to seek the necessary relief.

(3.) WHEN the present writ petition originally came up for hearing before the Division Bench on 24th Jan. 1984, learned Counsel for the writ petitioner placed basic reliance on Shri Niwas v. Delhi Administration, AIR 1982 SC 1391, and the judgments of this Court purporting to follow the same, in Awadhesh Singh v. State of Bihar (Cri.W.J. Case No.517 of 1982 - - decided on 27th July, 1983), Ranjit Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar (Cri.W.J. Case No.222 of 1983 - decided on 29th Aug. 1983) (Pat), Ramnath Prasad v. State of Bihar (Cri W.J. Case No.135 of 1983 -decided on 9th Nov. 1983) (Pat), and, Harendra Singh v. State of Bihar (Cri.W.J. Case No.406 of 1983 - decided on 12th Jan. 1984) (Pat).