SHARAFAT ALI versus STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER

Citation: [2022] 1 S.C.R. 696 · Decided: 10-02-2022 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: D.Y. CHANDRACHUD · Disposal: Disposed off
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Judgment (excerpt)

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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2022] 1 S.C.R.
[2022] 1 S.C.R. 696
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SHARAFAT ALI
v.
STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER
(Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 439 of 2021)
FEBRUARY 10, 2022
[DR. DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD, SURYA KANT
AND VIKRAM NATH, JJ.]
Premature release – Relevant considerations – Held:
Application for premature release has to be considered on the basis
of the policy as it stood on the date when the petitioner was convicted
of the offence – Applicant’s prior criminal history, his conduct and
behavior in jail, and possible danger to the society on his release
are to be adverted to – There has to be a considered application of
mind to the facts of each case – On facts, petitioner convicted u/s.
302/34 IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment, had undergone 17
years, 9 months and 26 days of imprisonment and submitted an
application for premature release which was rejected – Said order
by the State government is bereft of an application of mind to relevant
circumstances bearing on whether the petitioner should be released
prematurely – Order contains general observations to the effect
that the release may result in resentment on the side of the victim,
but this is a general consideration – Order rejecting the application
for premature release suffers from a complete and patent non-
application of mind – Issuance of direction to reconsider the
application of the petitioner for premature release afresh, on basis
of the policy as it stood when the petitioner was convicted of the
offence – Constitution of India – Arts. 21, 32.
State of Haryana & Ors. vs Jagdish (2010) 4 SCC 216
: [2010] (3) SCR 716; State of Haryana and Others vs
Raj Kumar @ Bitu (2021) 9 SCC 292 – relied on.
Case Law Reference
[2010] (3) SCR 716
relied on
Para 6
(2021) 9 SCC 292
relied on
Para 6
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CRIMINAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition
(Criminal) No. 439 of 2021.
Under Article 32 of The Constitution of India.
K. L. Janjani, Anil Kumar Pandey, Advs. for the Petitioner.
Ardhendhumauli K. Prasad, AAG, Vikas Bansal, Shashi Shekhar
Kumar Prasad, Rohit Kumar Singh, Advs. for the Respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
DR. DHANANJAYA Y CHANDRACHUD, J.
1. The jurisdiction of this Court has been invoked under Article 32
of the Constitution for the enforcement of the right under Article 21 of
the Constitution, following an order dated 30 July 2021 rejecting the
application of the petitioner for premature release.
2. The petitioner has been convicted for an offence punishable
under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code 18601
on 17 January 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment. The judgment
of the trial Judge was affirmed in appeal by the High Court of Judicature
at Allahabad on 3 June 2016. The Special Leave Petition under Article
136 of the Constitution was dismissed by this Court on 20 April 2018.
3. The petitioner had undergone 17 years, 9 months and 26 days
of imprisonment and submitted an application for premature release.
The application for premature release was rejected on 30 July 2021.
The order communicating the rejection of the application which has been
passed by the State government records that the District Magistrate and
the Superintendent of Police Amethi had in their report stated that if the
petitioner is released prematurely, the possibility that this may cause
resentment among the side of the victim cannot be ruled out nor can the
possibility of an offence being committed again by the petitioner be
excluded. The order also states that the petitioner has an “extremist
nature” and the presence of bitterness among the parties cannot be
denied.
4. Notice was issued in the petition on 8 November 2021, in
pursuance of which a counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the
State of Uttar Pradesh.
5. We have heard Mr K L Janjani, counsel for the petitioner and
Mr Ardhendu Mauli Kumar Prasad, Additional Advocate General for
the State of Uttar Pradesh.
1  “IPC“
SHARAFAT ALI v. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
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6. The first principle which must be noted, while adjudicating upon
the petition is that the application for premature release has to be
considered on the basis of the policy as it stood on the date when the
petitioner was convicted of the offence. This principle finds reiteration
in several judgments of this Court such as State of Haryana & Ors. vs
Jagdish2. The most recent of them is the decision in State of
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