HC asks Delhi government to decide all parole cases within three weeks
25 Jan, 2014In December, 2011 a prisoner at Tihar jail had filed an application seeking parole for three months which was forwarded by the jail superintendent to Joint Secretary of Delhi government. However, the application was kept pending for two months despite repeated reminders.
The prisoner, after being released from the jail, filed applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and found that the guidelines for parole/furlough were not complied with in strict manner and most of the parole applications were decided after huge delays.
Following this, he filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the state government for adhering to the parole guidelines. The litigant contended that para 20 of the 'Parole/Furlough Guidelines 2010' specifically mentions that the applications will be scrutinized by the Deputy Secretary (Home) of Delhi government and it will be ensured that the application is decided within three weeks by the home department. After hearing the case, the court directed the Delhi government to decide all the 65 pending parole applications within three weeks and reminded it to adhere to the guidelines in future. The court also rebuked the government for not moving an application regarding amendment in the guidelines if it felt that the time limit provided in the guidelines was not practically sufficient.