Period Of Parole Granted By HPC During COVID-19 Can't Be Counted Towards Actual Sentence : Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Friday held that period of parole granted to prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic period to prevent the overcrowding of prisoners cannot be counted towards the period of actual imprisonment underwent by the prisoner.A bench comprising Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar dismissed a writ petition filed by a prisoner who sought for a declaration that the period of...
The Supreme Court on Friday held that period of parole granted to prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic period to prevent the overcrowding of prisoners cannot be counted towards the period of actual imprisonment underwent by the prisoner.
A bench comprising Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar dismissed a writ petition filed by a prisoner who sought for a declaration that the period of parole granted allowed by the High Powered Committee during the pandemic based on the orders passed by the Supreme Court in the suo motu case In Re Contagion of COVID 19 virus in Prisons be counted towards the period of actual sentence.
The bench relied on the recent judgment in Rohan Dhungat vs State of Goa and Ors 2023 LiveLaw(SC) 10 which held that parole period cannot be counted towards the period of actual sentence.
The petitioner, who has been sentenced to undergo life imprisonment for the offence of murder, has to undergo the said imprisonment actually, subject to any policy on remission and the period during which he was released on emergency parole has to be excluded from the period of actual imprisonment, the bench held.
The petitioner's argument was that since the parole allowed on account of COVID-19 pandemic was as per the directions of the HPC and as he did not "ask for it", the period spent on such parole should be excluded.
"This was not regular parole. It was involuntary, I did not ask for it. There was huge overcrowding in the prisons. (If not for the parole), it would have added to the number of deaths in prisons during COVID”, the petitioner's lawyer had argued.
“But you were out of jail, right? Then where’s the question…Parole period cannot be counted, we have already said that”, the Bench had said during the hearing.
Case Title : Anil Kumar vs State of Haryana | W.P.(Crl.) No. 46/2022
Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 237
Parole - Period of emergency parole granted on recommendation of HPC during COVID-19 cannot be counted towards actual sentence period- Followed Rohan Dhungat vs State of Goa and Ors 2023 LiveLaw(SC) 10