- (1.) The petitioner has filed the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for issuance of an appropriate writ, order or direction to the respondents to initiate and consider her case for premature release and to release her on usual terms and conditions forthwith as per Government Instructions dated 04.04.2013 (Annexure P-1).
(2.) The petitioner was arrested in FIR No.338 dated 05.12.2005 under Sections 302, 420, 465, 467, 471, 474/34 and 120-B, IPC registered at Police Station Mohali. Vide judgment and order dated 02.06.2012 learned Additional Sessions Judge, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali) convicted her in the aforesaid FIR and sentenced her to undergo life imprisonment. Against her conviction and sentence, she has filed the appeal which stood admitted and is on the regular board of this Court.
(3.) According to the petitioner she has already undergone more than ten years and five months of actual sentence of imprisonment and about fourteen years after adding remissions. The Punjab Government has issued Instructions dated 04.04.2013 regarding premature release of the life convicts. As per the same, the case of a life convict is to be considered after he completes ten year's actual sentence and fourteen years with remissions. In the case of woman, her case for premature release is to be considered after she completes an actual sentence of eight years and with remissions twelve years. Her case is thus, covered by aforesaid Instructions. Despite the same the Superintendent, District Jail, Rupnagar has refused to initiate her case for premature release on the ground that in terms of the Instructions dated 16.04.2013 issued by the Hon'ble Governor, Punjab the cases of life convicts for grant of premature release are not to be put up or recommended where the appeal filed by said convict is pending either in the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India or in the High Court.;