Bombay HC pulls up prison authorities for 'perfunctory' approach while declining furlough to convicts

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has deprecated the repeated practice of state prison authorities of passing orders in a "perfunctory" manner while refusing convicts the benefits of parole and furlough.

A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande, in the order on July 10, said merely because the report from a local police station raises objection to parole or furlough of a convict, which is most of the times without any basis, the benefit of parole or furlough cannot be curtailed.

The court was hearing a petition filed by murder case convict Tabrez Khan, challenging an order passed by the prison authorities refusing him furlough on the ground that an adverse report was submitted by a local police station.

The HC quashed the prison authorities' decision and granted furlough to Khan.

The high court noted that in August 2022, the state prisons department issued a circular instructing prisons authorities to not reject parole and furlough applications only on the ground of an adverse police report.

"We hope and trust that the Inspector General of Prisons and Correctional Services is conscious of these directives/guidelines issued by his own department," the HC bench said.

The ground for the rejection of furlough was "perfunctory", it said.

The court said the provisions of parole and furlough exist in the prison system to enable a convict to continue maintaining his family ties and discharge of his family responsibilities, and a convict who undergoing sentence of imprisonment was entitled to these benefits.

"Time and again we have noticed that the prison authorities who are empowered to secure the release of a convict have acted in a perfunctory manner merely by expressing disinclination that his discharge or release from prison is likely to result in some untoward situation including he being indulged in an offence," the bench said.

"We do not think that the laws are insufficient to take care of such a situation," it added.

The Inspector General of Prisons and Correctional Services, in an affidavit, submitted to the HC that the police raised an objection to release Khan on furlough leave as there was a possibility of threat to the lives of witnesses and that he may commit another crime.

The Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, Central region, while refusing Khan furlough also noted there were other cases pending against him and that he was associated with a gangster.

Khan was convicted in a murder case. He is undergoing sentence in the case at the Nashik central prison, and is also accused in a few other cases in which he has been granted bail.

The high court, however, said the remark of Khan being associated with a gangster was made without furnishing any iota of material.

"We hope and trust that the authorities would refrain from making such remarks which are totally unfounded and scribed just with an intention to deny the benefit available to a convict, who despite being incarcerated is not denuded of his right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the HC said.