Criminal Misc. No.M-17176 of 2008 -1-
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
Criminal Misc. No.M-17176 of 2008
Date of decision : 21.10.2008
Amar Singh .....Petitioner
Versus
State of Punjab and others ...Respondents
CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. D. ANAND
Present: Mr.A.S.Trikha, Advocate for the petitioner.
Ms. Manjari Nehru, Deputy Advocate
General,Punjab for the respondents.
S. D. ANAND, J.
The petitioner-prisoner (a convict under the NDPS Act) was
declined parole on an averment that he does not own a house wherein
repairs could be got made.
The petitioner has placed on record Annexure P-1, a copy of
allotment letter dated 16.2.2000 vide which a 60 meter plot was allotted to
him by the Estate Officer, HUDA, Fatehabad. The petitioner-prisoner
wants to raise construction on that plot. Panchayatnama (Annexure P-3)
also certifies that the family of the petitioner-prisoner is living in the rented
accommodation and he wants to construct a house.
If the petitioner-prisoner owns a plot and he applies for the
grant of parole for reasonable period in order to able to make arrangement
for the construction of a residential house to lodge his spouse and other
dependent members of his family, no exception can possibly be taken to it.
The competent authority could limit the period of parole to a reasonable
Criminal Misc. No.M-17176 of 2008 -2-
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length of time. A prisoner cannot be allowed to raise a plea for being on
parole for a long period of time or till the construction is over. He could
apply for being let off on parole to enable him to make arrangement in the
context of raising of construction of house. After the needful is done, the
prisoner must go back to jail.
In the circumstances of the case, the petition shall stand
allowed. The impugned order is set aside. The competent authority is
directed to pass an order afresh, within one month from today, in the light
of the above observations made by this Court. It will be for the State
counsel to communicate the order to the competent authority.
Copy of the order be given to the learned State counsel under
the signatures of the Court Secretary.
October 21, 2008 (S.D. ANAND) Pka JUDGE