RAJKUMAR versus THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

Citation: [2023] 6 S.C.R. 412 · Decided: 06-02-2023 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: D.Y. CHANDRACHUD · Disposal: Directions issued
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Judgment (excerpt)

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412
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2023] 6 S.C.R.
RAJKUMAR
v.
THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH
Miscellaneous Application No 2169 of 2022
In
(Writ Petition (Criminal) No 36 of 2022)
FEBRUARY 06, 2023
[DR. DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD, CJI,
PAMIDIGHANTAM SRI NARASIMHA AND
J B PARDIWALA, JJ.]
Uttar Pradesh Prisoners (Release on Probation) Act 1938 –
Uttar Pradesh Prisoners (Release on Probation) Rules 1938 –
Standing Policy formulated on 01.08.2018, amended on 27.05.2022
– Premature release of persons sentenced to suffer life imprisonment
on conviction under IPC, directions issued by Supreme Court in
Rashidul Jafar case – Despite the said judgment and the convicts
having fulfilled the conditions of eligibility for the grant of premature
release, cases were not being dealt with in terms of the policy –
Held: The State having formulated Rules and a Standing Policy for
deciding cases of premature release, it is bound by its own
formulations of law – It is not open to the State to adopt an arbitrary
yardstick for picking up cases for premature release – It must strictly
abide by the terms of its policies – Each case for premature release
has to be decided on the basis of the legal position as it stands on
the date of the conviction subject to a more beneficial regime being
provided in terms of a subsequent policy determination – The
provisions of the law must be applied equally to all persons – Out
of the 50 prisoners whose cases have been brought to the notice of
Supreme Court, all the pending cases be disposed of on or before
30.04.2023 in terms of the directions issued – Compliance report
be filed on affidavit by the Director General of Prisons –
Miscellaneous Application be listed for verifying compliance – Code
of Criminal Procedure 1973 – ss.433A, 423 – Constitution of India
– Article 161.
[2023] 6 S.C.R. 412
412
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Rashidul Jafar @ Chota v. State of Uttar Pradesh &
Anr. Writ Petition (Criminal) No 336 of 2019; State of
Haryana v. Jagdish (2010) 4 SCC 216 : [2010] 3 SCR
716; State of Haryana v. Raj Kumar (2021) 9 SCC 292
– relied on.
Case Law Reference
[2010] 3 SCR 716
relied on
Para 5
(2021) 9 SCC 292
relied on
Para 5
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Miscellaneous
Application No. 2169 of 2022 in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 36 of 2022.
From the Judgment and Order dated 11.03.2022 in W.P. (Crl.)
No. 36 of 2022 of the Supreme Court of India.
Nagendra Singh, Ms. Akansha, Ashish Pandey, Naman Raj Singh,
Dr. Amardeep Gaur, M/s V. Maheshwari & Co., Advs. for the Petitioner.
Vishnu Shankar Jain, Rishi Malhotra, Advs. for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
DR. DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD, CJI
1. On 6 September 2022, this Court in its judgment in Rashidul
Jafar @ Chota Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr1 issued a slew of
directions governing the premature release of persons sentenced to suffer
imprisonment for life consequent upon their conviction under diverse
provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
2. Following the above decision, this Court has been repeatedly
moved in petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for
securing the premature release of individual convicts because their cases
for premature release have not been considered.
3. Under the Uttar Pradesh Prisoners (Release on Probation)
Act 1938, cases for premature release of prisoners sentenced to
imprisonment for life and Writ Petition (Criminal) No 336 of 2019
undergoing the sentence in the prisons of the State are considered under
Form ‘A’. The State of Uttar Pradesh formulated the Uttar Pradesh
Prisoners (Release on Probation) Rules 1938. Rule 4 of the Rules is in
the following terms :-
1 Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 336 of 2019
RAJKUMAR V. THE STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2023] 6 S.C.R.
“4. Eligibility for release.—Any prisoner other than a prisoner
specified in Rule 3, may be eligible for consideration by the State
Government for release on licence—
(i) if he is a prisoner to whom Section 433-A of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 applies and has served imprisonment
for a total period of fourteen years;
(ii) if he is a prisoner sentenced to imprisonment for life to whom
Section 433-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 does not
apply and has served imprisonment for a total period of fourteen
years with remissions; and
(iii) in any other case if he has served one-third without remissions
of the period of imprisonment to which he was sentenced.”
The process of premature rele
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