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Sharafat Ali vs State of U.P.

Not available · 2022 INSC 173Decided 10 Feb 2022
Not available
Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud · Surya Kant · Vikram Nath

Background

The petitioner had been convicted of murder (Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC) in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment; his conviction was upheld on appeal and his Special Leave Petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2018. After serving nearly 18 years in prison, he applied to the Uttar Pradesh government for premature release, but his application was rejected in July 2021 on the ground that his release could cause "resentment" among the victim's side and that he had an "extremist nature." He then approached the Supreme Court directly under Article 32, alleging a violation of his right to personal liberty under Article 21.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that an application for premature release must be considered under the remission policy as it stood on the date of the applicant's conviction, following its earlier rulings in State of Haryana v. Jagdish and State of Haryana v. Raj Kumar @ Bitu. It found that the State's rejection order was based only on vague, generic observations, potential "resentment" of the victim's family, without any actual reference to the petitioner's criminal history, conduct in jail, or genuine risk to society, amounting to a "complete and patent non-application of mind." The Court set aside the rejection order and directed the State to reconsider the premature release application afresh, based on all relevant facts, within two months.

Lesson Learnt

A government's decision to reject a convict's premature release cannot rest on generalized, boilerplate concerns. It must reflect genuine, case-specific consideration of the convict's history, conduct, and actual risk, applying the remission policy that was in force when he was originally convicted.

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

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