Patturani v. The Deputy Inspector General Of Prison
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED:10.11.2023
CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.SUNDAR and THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R.SAKTHIVEL W.P.(MD)No.27112 of 2023 Patturani : Petitioner Vs.
1.The Deputy Inspector General of Prison, O/o. The Deputy Inspector General of Prison and Correctional Services, Madurai Range, Madurai Central Prison Campus, New Jail Road, Madurai.
2.The Superintendent of Prison, Central Jail, Palayankottai, Tirunelveli District.
: Respondents
PRAYER: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for records the impugned order passed by the Respondent No.1 in No.2112/Vu.Tha.2/2023 dated 18.10.2023 and quash the same and further direct the Respondent No.1 to grant ordinary leave for period of 40 days without escort to petitioners husband namely Sundar S/o. Mupputathi, CP No.619 who is a life convict in a murder case and languishing in Tirunelveli Central Jail. For Petitioner : Mr.SMA.Jinnah For Respondents : Mr.A.Thiurvadi Kumar, Additional Public Prosecutor.
O R D E R
[Order of the Court was made by M.SUNDAR, J.] Captioned writ petition which has been filed in this Court on 07.11.2023 pertains to ordinary leave for Writ Petitioner's spouse one Sundar, son of Mupputathi [CP.No.619], a life convict now lodged in Palayamkottai Central Prison, Tirunelveli District.
2. In this order, writ petitioner's spouse shall be referred to as 'prison inmate' for the sake of convenience and clarity.
3. Mr.S.M.A.Jinnah, learned counsel for Writ Petitioner submits that ordinary leave sought for, for the prison inmate was acceded to vide 'order dated 18.10.2023, bearing reference No.2112/c.j.2/2023' [hereinafter 'impugned order' for the sake of convenience]. To be noted, impugned order has been made by the first respondent. Learned counsel submits that though the ordinary leave request has been acceded to, ordinary leave has been granted with escort and this has necessitated the filing of the captioned Writ Petition.
4. In support of his argument that the leave granted should be without escort, learned counsel drew our attention to emergency leave granted vide proceedings dated 31.10.2023, bearing reference No.4904/jF.2/2023, made by the second respondent, which reads as follows:
5. Learned counsel submits that emergency leave has been granted for the same prisoner without escort and therefore, ordinary leave granted with escort is causing hardship to the prison inmate and writ petitioner, who is his wife.
6. Issue notice. Mr.A.Thiruvadi Kumar, learned Additional Public Prosecutor accepts notice for both respondents and on instructions submits that emergency leave granted without escort vide order dated 31.10.2023 is factually the correct position and when we wanted to know whether any change of circumstances, it was pointed out that there is nothing on record to demonstrate change of circumstances.
7. This Court also wanted to know as to whether the emergency leave granted without escort was uneventful. This Court is informed that emergency leave granted vide aforementioned proceedings dated 31.10.2023 by the second respondent passed off peacefully without any untoward incident and the prison inmate returned and surrendered on the leave period elapsing. Therefore, this Bench is of the view that it would be appropriate to grant 28 days leave [already granted vide impugned order]
without escort but with a condition that the prison inmate shall sign before the jurisdictional Court [we are informed that Judicial Magistrate V, Tirunelveli is the jurisdictional Magistrate].
8. In the light of the narrative, the following order is passed: (i) that portion of the impugned order ie., order dated 18.10.2023 bearing reference No.2112/c.j.2/2023 made by the first respondent which says 'chpa fhty;Jiw topf;fhtYld; 28 ehl;fs; rhjhuz tpLg;G toq;fp Mizaplg;gLfpwJ' alone is set aside ie., with escort part alone is set aside;
(ii) as the aforementioned part of the impugned order is set aside, the same will now be replaced by a condition that the prison inmate shall sign before the Judicial Magistrate in the Forenoon everyday ie., before Judicial Magistrate V, Tirunelveli.
9. This Writ Petition is allowed in the aforesaid manner. There shall be no order as to costs.
[M.S.,J.] & [R.S.V.,J.] vsm 10.11.2023 Index : Yes/No To 1.The Deputy Inspector General of Prison, O/o. The Deputy Inspector General of Prison and Correctional Services, Madurai Range, Madurai Central Prison Campus, New Jail Road, Madurai.
2.The Superintendent of Prison, Central Jail, Palayankottai, Tirunelveli District.
3.The Additional Public Prosecutor, Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, Madurai.
M.SUNDAR, J.
and R.SAKTHIVEL, J.
vsm W.P.(MD)No.27112 of 2023 10.11.2023