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Pyare Lal v. State of Haryana

Criminal Appeal · 2020 INSC 457Decided 17 Jul 2020
Criminal Appeal No. 1003 of 2017
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit · Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar · Justice Vineet Saran

Background

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. The appellant was released early in 2019 under a Haryana remission policy for elderly long-term convicts. The question was how such a policy fits with the Governor's clemency power under Article 161 and the minimum term in Section 433-A of the CrPC.

Decision Breakdown

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. After reviewing the case law, the Court framed the question whether a blanket remission policy, applied without individual files going to the Governor, can override Section 433-A. It placed the matter before the Chief Justice for a larger bench. The appeal itself was not decided.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether policy-based remission can override the 14-year minimum under Section 433-A.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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