A bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta also came down on the Kerala government for having earlier denied his applications for remission by relying on a rule that excludes those who had committed murders against women from availing the benefit of remission.
“To issue a policy directive, or guidelines, over and above the (Travancore-Cochin Prison) Act and Rules framed (where the latter forms part and parcel of the former), and undermine what they encapsulate, cannot be countenanced. Blanket exclusion of certain offences, from the scope of grant of remission, especially by way of an executive policy, is not only arbitrary, but turns the ideals of reformation that run through our criminal justice system, on its head“, the Court observed.
The bench added that typecasting such convicts through inflexible guidelines based on crimes committed several years ago undermines their reformative potential, and can crush the life force out of such individuals.
“For instance, a 19 or 20 year old individual convicted for a crime, which finds place in the list which bars premature release, altogether, would mean that such person would never see freedom, and would die within the prison walls … Excluding the relief of premature release to prisoners who have served extremely long periods of incarceration, not only crushes their spirit, and instils despair, but signifies society’s resolve to be harsh and unforgiving. The idea of rewarding, a prisoner for good conduct is entirely negated,” the top court said.
Source: Barandbench
