- (1.)Leave granted in SLP (Criminal) No. 4461 of 2009. These two appeals were directed to be tagged by an order dated 17th July 2013 made in SLP (Criminal) No. 4461 of 2009, though in our opinion the questions arising in each of these matters are totally different.
(2.)Criminal Appeal No. 973 arises out of the judgment of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana dated 22nd February 2007 in Criminal Miscellaneous No. 63845-M of 2006. The said petition was filed challenging a letter of the Director General of Prisons, Haryana. The relevant portion of the said letter reads as follows:
It has come to the notice of this office that remission is being granted to convicts who have been convicted and sentenced under N.D.P.S. Act.

In this regard, the opinion of L.R. has been sought, who has opined that Section 32A1 of N.D.P.S. Act creates a specific bar to the suspension or remission or commutation of sentence awarded under this Act.

You are therefore directed that no remission be granted to convicts who have been convicted under the N.D.P.S. Act. You are further directed that remission already granted be withdrawn immediately under intimation to this office and an entry to this regard be made in their record.

(3.)It appears that the Petitioners (Appellants herein) who were convicted under the N.D.P.S. Act challenged the abovementioned letter and sought a direction to the Respondents not to withdraw the remission granted to them from time to time under the various provisions of the Punjab Jail Manual.