Supreme Court Warns UP Director General Prisons Of Contempt Action If Directions On Premature Release Of Prisoners Are Violated

Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha issued strict directions to the Director General of Prisons of Uttar Pradesh to take all necessary steps to ensure that applications for premature release or remission are duly considered. The directions were passed in a matter where a person was convicted on 2nd February 1984 for an offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life.

The petitioner in the case had been in custody for 15 years and 14 days without remission and 19 years and 04 months with remission. A plea for premature release was filed by the petitioner, however, the same has remained pending since September 2019 for well over three years and three months. The court noted–

"In view of the settled position of law laid down by this Court the application filed by the petitioner is required to be considered on the basis of the policy as it stood on the date of the conviction. If a more liberalized regime has been brought into effect subsequently, this should also be considered."

The court found that the delay in processing the application for premature release was without any reason or justification. CJI DY Chandrachud, while dictating the order, said–

"Since this Court has, while taking notice of the sorry state of affairs in the matter of the release of convicts who have undergone long terms of imprisonment, issued directions to the Director General of Prisons, UP in an earlier case, we are not in these proceedings taking up the issue which is pending consideration. We accordingly direct that within a month from the date of this order, the Director General of Prisons shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the application for premature release is duly considered and disposed of and file an affidavit of compliance before this Court on or before 15 February 2023."

It also held–

"The Director General of Prisons and all concerned authorities are placed on notice that this Court would be constrained to take recourse to the coercive arm of law if other instances indicating recalcitrance of the authorities in dealing with such applications are brought to the notice of the Court."

Case Title: Karuna Shankar v. State of UP | Writ Petition(s)(Criminal) No(s). 497/2022

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