Parole by a court to ‘start family’ sparks a new trend among Rajasthan prisoners

The division bench of Rajasthan HC in Jodhpur on April 5 granted conditional parole of 15 days to Nandlal (34), a prisoner serving a life sentence, following a plea by his wife expressing intent to start a family

A Rajasthan high court order granting parole to a prisoner to start a family seems to have set off a new trend as other prisoners too are now seeking relief on the same grounds, prompting the state government to challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court.

For representational purposes only. (HT File Photo)

The division bench of Rajasthan HC in Jodhpur on April 5 granted conditional parole of 15 days to Nandlal (34), a prisoner serving a life sentence, following a plea by his wife expressing intent to start a family. He was sentenced for life by the additional district and sessions judge of Bhilwara on February 6, 2019, on charges of murder.

Nandlal, currently lodged in the Ajmer central jail, applied for release on parole before the Parole Advisory Committee in Ajmer in early 2022; the committee has not taken any decision yet. Challenging this, his wife said in a petition in the HC that since she does not have any complaints from the marriage, she would want to start a family, for which she wants the court to release Nandlal for 15 days on parole.

While allowing the petition, the division bench of justices Sandeep Mehta and Farjand Ali observed that having a progeny for the purpose of preservation of lineage has been recognised through religious philosophies, the Indian culture and various judicial pronouncements, and the right of progeny can help normalise convicts and alter their behaviour.

The court said the purpose of parole is to let the convict re-enter society peacefully after his release. The wife of the prisoner has been deprived of her right to have progeny though she has not committed any offence, the court observed. Thus, denial to the convict-prisoner to have conjugal relationship with his wife, especially for to have a progeny, will adversely affect the rights of his wife, the court said.

“In a case where the innocent spouse is a woman and she desires to become a mother, the responsibility of the State is more important, as for a married woman, completion of womanhood requires giving birth to a child. Her womanhood gets magnified by her becoming a mother, her image gets glorified and becomes more respectful in the family as well in society. She should not be deprived to live in a condition wherein she has to suffer living without her husband and then without having any children from her husband for no fault of her,” the court ruled.

But the order was the beginning of a slew of similar requests.

Citing the HC ruling, Ashok Kumar (30), a resident of Kanasar village in Bhilwara district and currently lodged in the Ajmer central jail, moved an application on July 21 for temporary suspension of his sentence and a one-month bail. In the application he has cited his wish to become a father as the reason to get parole.

“My client Ashok Kumar was sentenced to 10 years in a NDPS Act case in Bhilwara on February 9, 2022. He is childless and wants to have a child. We have filed the application relying on the judgment given in Nandlal’s case. For the time being, the court has postponed the hearing,” his advocate Mangilal Bishnoi said. The next hearing of his case is on August 3.

In another case, undertrial accused Dileep Singh filed an application for bail in the high court citing the same reason. Dileep was booked for murder and robbery at the Luni police station in 2018.

“A convict (Jagdish Prasad) in a murder case, currently in Bikaner jail, approached the committee expressing intent to start a family, but was denied relief citing that there is no such provision in rules to allow parole for such reasons. Now he is approaching the Jodhpur high court challenging the committee decision, citing the Nandlal case,” advocate Kaluram Bhati, who had filed a petition in the court on behalf of Nandlal’s wife, said.

Lawyers in Jodhpur HC said that Nandlal’s case has led to an increase in such applications by other convicts and undertrials.

“We have come across some cases in which temporary suspension of sentence or interim bail was sought citing the Nandlal case. There is no provision in the state’s parole rules to release for conceiving or causing pregnancy. In view of this, the state government has filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the judgment of the division bench of the high court,” additional advocate general Anil Kumar Joshi said.

The Chief Justice of India on Monday agreed to hear the Rajasthan government’s plea next week.