SHOR V. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANR.

Date of Judgement: 5August 2020

Composition of the Bench: Division Bench. Hon’ble Justice Mr. Fali S. Nariman, Hon’ble Justice Mr. Navin Sinha, the former authored this judgement.

Facts

The petitioner having served almost three decades in the prison was denied premature release. The reason for the same was adumbrated in an order passed by the Joint Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh government. The order adverted to the grave nature of the offence committed (murder of eleven people) and that releasing him would “send negative message against the justice system to the society.”  The foregoing order was impugned in the instant case.

Judgement

Presently, the Hon’ble Supreme Court adverted to Section 2 of the United Provinces Prisoners Release on Probation Act, 1938 (hereinafter the ‘U.P. Act’).

The U.P. Act empowers the State Government to release a prisoner in accordance to the conditions mentioned in the same section, upon consideration of the following elements-

• Antecedents of the prisoner;
• Conduct of the prisoner in the prison;
• the person, if released, is likely to abstain from crime and lead a peaceable life.

The Court opined that the order by the Joint Secretary was passed mechanically and without the application of mind since it did not account for any of the conditions enumerated in Section 2 of the U.P.

Hence, the order was set aside and the petitioner was set free.