STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. JOGINDERSINGH:GURMAIL SINGH:AJIT SINGH:DHIR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Special leave granted in all the above matters.

(2.) Paragraph 516-B provides that the case of every convicted prisoner (except females and males below 20 years at the date of the commission of the crime) sentenced to imprisonment for life or imprisonment agreegating to over 14 years and who has undergone a period of detention in Jail amounting, together with remission earned, to 14 years, 'shall be' submitted to the State Government, through the Inspector General of Prisons, for orders. In the case of female prisoners or prisoners who were below 20 years on the date of the commission of the crime, reference is required to be similarly made to the State Government on their completing a detention period of 10 years inclusive of remissions. Clause (v), however, provides that notwithstanding anything contained in the earlier part of the paragraph, a Superintendent of Jail 'may' in his discretion, refer at anytime, for the orders of the State Government, the case of any prisoner sentenced to imprisonment for life whose sentence might in the Superintendent's opinion be suitably commuted to a term of imprisonment. It would appear from a plain reading of this paragraph that in the case of a prisoner who has completed 14 years of detention in jail, inclusive of remissions earned, it is imperative on the part of the Superintendent of the Jail to submit his case, through the I.G. of Prisons, to the State Government for consideration. The use of the words shall be submitted' brings out this intention when we contrast them with the word 'may' and the words 'in his discretion' used in clause (v) thereto which begins with a nonobstante clause. Therefore, where the intention was to confer a mere discretion on the Superintent of Jail, it was made manifest by the use of the expression 'may' followed by the words 'in his discretion' and where the intention was to cast a duty to submit the case of the State Government, it was brought but by the word 'shall' preceding the words be submitted for the orders of the State Government'. We have, therefore, no doubt in our minds that paragraph 516-B, though an executive instruction, has been couched in language which clearly shows that in the former type of cases where the prisoner has completed 14 years of detention in jail, inclusive of remissions, his case must be referred to the State Government for consideration. Notwithstanding this limitation of completion of 14 years, clause (v) confers a discretion on the Superintendent of the jail to refer or submit the case of a prisoner to the State Government even before he has completed 14 years if in his opinion the case is fit for commuting the sentence.

(3.) Paragraph 631 is indisputably a statutory one as it is blacklined. But the blacklined portion of the paragraph merely defines certain expressions including the expression 'life convicts' which means a person whose sentence amounts to 20 years imprisonment. Then appears the Note which reads as follows :