Punjab and Haryana High Court: Necessary for convict to stay in touch with society

Saurabh Malik

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Chandigarh, January 17

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that every convict needs to keep ‘phone line’ active with society. Striking a harmonious chord between justice and societal reintegration, a Division Bench of the high court has ruled that maintaining contact with society is not just a matter of choice, but a necessity for the jailed convicts for transforming offenders into responsible citizens.

“It is necessary for a convict to maintain his contact with society, which would facilitate his reformation and turn him into a responsible citizen at the time of his release,” the Bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal and Justice Kirti Singh ruled.

The HC’s call for a reform came during the hearing of a petition filed by a convict challenging order dated December 29, 2023, whereby his application for grant of three-week emergency parole was declined by authorities concerned.

Appearing before the Bench, his counsel submitted that the petitioner had been convicted for murder offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC before being sentenced to undergo life imprisonment. He had already undergone an actual sentence of five years.

The Bench was also told that his brother died on January 12 following an accident on December 25 last year. The petitioner was permitted by the jail authorities to attend his brother’s funeral in custody a day after the death. But he was seeking parole to enable him to meet his grieving family.

The state counsel, on the other hand, filed a status report before submitting that the petitioner was found in possession of a mobile phone while he was in custody. He was, as such, treated as a hardcore prisoner and was not entitled to be released on parole.

After hearing rival contentions and going through the documents, the Bench asserted his brother had expired and his presence with the grieving family would be necessary under such circumstances.