PAROLE & FURLOUGH

"Parole rule in Delhi: Parole is granted to the convicts whose appeal against conviction has been decided by the appellate court. There is no restriction on a convict about the number of times he applied for parole. The parole is generally granted on the grounds of sickness, death, marriage, property dispute, education or any other sufficient reasons. This is granted by the Hon'ble Lt.Governor, Govt. of National Capital Territory of Delhi. The parole is not admissible to the convict undergoing sentence in the NDPS cases. The period of parole is counted towards the total sentence of a prisoner"

THE LAW ON PAROLE AND FURLOUGH IN INDIA: AN OVERVIEW 

Parole: 

Parole is the conditional release of prisoners i.e. an early release of a prisoner, conditional on good behavior and regular reporting to the authorities for a set period of time1. The object behind parole is to grant some relief to the prisoners in certain exigencies which may be as follows: 

i. A member of the prisoner’s family has died or is seriously ill or the prisoner himself is seriously ill; 

ii. The marriage of the prisoner himself, his son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, sister’s son or daughter is to be celebrated; 

iii. The temporary release of the prisoner is necessary for ploughing, sowing or harvesting or carrying on any other agricultural operation of his land or his father’s undivided land actually in possession of the prisoner; 

iv. It is desirable to do so for any other sufficient cause. 

Parole can be granted only after a portion of the sentence is served. If the conditions of parole are not abided by the parolee, he may be returned to serve his sentence in prison. 

There are many State Governments who have formulated guidelines on parole in order to bring out the objectivity in the decision making and to decide as to whether parole needs to be granted in a particular case or not. In such cases, the decision to whether grant parole or to not grant parole is taken in accordance with the guidelines so framed. The guidelines of some of the States stipulate two kinds of paroles, namely; (i) Custody Parole and (ii) Regular Parole. 

‘Custody Parole’ is generally granted in emergent circumstances like: 

i. Death of a family member; 

ii. Marriage of a family member; 

iii. Serious illness of a family member; 

iv. Any other emergent circumstances. 

Whereas ‘Regular Parole’ is granted in the following cases: 

i. Serious illness to a family member; 

ii. Critical conditions in the family on account of accident or death of a family member; 

iii. Marriage of any member of the family of the convict; 

iv. Delivery of a child by the wife of the convict if there is no other family member; to take care of the spouse at the time; 

v. Serious damage to life or property of the family of the convict including damages caused by natural calamities; 

vi. To maintain family and social ties; 

vii. To pursue the filing a of special leave petition before the Hon’ble Supreme Court against a judgment delivered by the High Court convicting or upholding conviction, as the case may be. 

Furlough: 

Furlough means granting leave of absence for a specified period of time to a convict from prison. It is a conditional release and is granted as good conduct remission. The right to be released on furlough is a substantial and a legal right of the prisoner and he cannot be denied the same if it is permissible under law2. Every State has formulated its own set of rules/guidelines for getting furlough. Whilst rules/guidelines of various States remain more or less the same in spirit, it is only the procedure for obtaining furlough which varies from State to State. 

The Hon’ble Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court3 has held that a convict may be denied furlough solely on ground of the offences committed by him as his release will hamper his reform or expose the society to the very danger to shield from which the convict is imprisoned. However, the Hon’ble Division Bench of the Delhi High Court4 disagreeing with the rationale of the Hon’ble Gujarat High Court held, that the seriousness of the offence cannot be a criteria to reject furlough without considering the convicts situation and reasons. The authority granting furlough in cases where the convict has been guilty of serious offences should do so with extra caution and also need to write a statement of reasons for granting furlough to such convicts. 

Difference Between Parole & Furlough: 

Over the years, the Hon’ble Supreme Court through various judicial pronouncements has differentiated between concept of parole and furlough, few of which are listed hereunder as follows: 

i. Parole can be granted in case of short-term imprisonment whereas furlough is granted in case of long-term imprisonment. 

ii. Duration of parole extends to one month whereas in case of furlough it extends to fourteen days maximum. 

iii. Parole is granted by Divisional Commissioner and furlough is granted by the Deputy Inspector of General of Prisons. 

iv. For parole a specific reason is required, whereas furlough is meant for breaking the monotony of imprisonment. 

v. The term of imprisonment is not included in the computation of the term parole, whereas it is vise-versa in furlough. 

vi. Parole can be granted number of times whereas there is a limitation in the case of furlough. 

Legal Provisions

The Delhi Prisons Act, 2000

Section 2(h) defines the term “furlough”, which means ‘leave as a reward granted to a convicted prisoner who has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for five years or more and has undergone three years thereof.”

Clause (p) defines “Parole system”, which means ‘the system of releasing prisoners from prison or parole by suspension of their sentences in accordance with the rules.”

Section 54 talks about the provision of punishment for not fulfilling conditions subject to which remission, etc has not been given, and where any prisoner who fails without sufficient cause to observe any of the conditions on, or subject to, which his sentence was remitted or suspend, or he was released on parole or furlough, the competent authority may cancel such order granting remission, suspension, or parole or furlough, and also-

• If the prisoner is at large, he shall be arrested by any police officer without a warrant and remanded to undergo the unexpired portion of his sentence;
• Shall on conviction by a Court, be punishable, in addition to the sentence he is undergoing with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Section 71 talks about the power of Government to make rules, where Clause (xxix) provides for the grant of parole, furlough and leave to prisoners.

Delhi Prison Rules, 2018

Chapter-XIX has provided a list of rules for regulation of Parole & Furlough in relation to the provisions relating to Custody and Regular Parole, the Procedure for disposal of Parole Applications, provisions relating to Furlough, the Procedure for disposal of Furlough Applications and other related provisions as well.

Judicial Approach

The Courts of this country have taken various views and opinions in discussing the laws related to both Parole and furlough, as well as they have provided, in some instances, the differences between the two. The most notable ones are as follows.

In the case of State of Haryana v. Mohinder Singh, the apex Court was of the opinion that “‘furlough’ and ‘parole’ are two distinct terms now being used in the Jail Manuals or laws relating to temporary release of prisoners. These two terms have acquired different meanings in the statute with varied results. Dictionary meanings, therefore, are not quite helpful. It would be thus seen that when a prisoner is on parole his period of release does not count towards the total period of sentence while when he is on furlough, he is eligible to have the period of release counted towards the total period of his sentence undergone by him. The Delhi Jail Manual also uses the same terminology …”

In the case of Pralhad Gajbhiye v. State of Maharashtra, the Court made the observation that there is a difference between furlough and parole, and held that furlough is a matter of right, whereas parole cannot be claimed as a matter of right.

In the case of Kantilal Nandlal Jaiswal v. Divisional Commissioner and Anr., the Bombay High Court went over the provisions of the Bombay Parole and Furlough Rules, 1959 as amended by the Government Notification dated 16th April 2018, which lays down the objectives for grant of Furlough and Parole, as well as the rules relating to ‘Release of prisoner on Parole’ with regard to Emergency and Regular parole.

The question raised in this petition before the Court was referred for its resolution to a larger Bench, that whether a parole is a right or was it a concession offered by the State or a mere administrative decision of the State dictated by its administrative policy or a special right of a prisoner in special circumstances, or something else. The petitioner, however, was granted the liberty to apply afresh for seeking leave of furlough or parole on new grounds.

In the case of Dinesh Kumar v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi, the High Court of Delhi laid down the meaning and purpose of both Parole and Furlough. The following observation were made by the bench-

“There is a subtle distinction between the two which has been explained by the Courts from time to time. A parole can be defined as conditional release of prisoners i.e., an early release of a prisoner, conditional on good behaviour and regular reporting to the authorities for a set period of time. It can also be defined as a form of conditional pardon by which the convict is released before the expiration of his term. Thus, the parole is granted for good behaviour on the condition that parolee regularly reports to a supervising officer for a specified period. Under the aforesaid guidelines, such a release of the prisoner is temporarily on some basic grounds. It is to be treated as mere suspension of the sentence for time being, keeping the quantum of sentence intact. Release on parole is designed to afford some relief to the prisoners in certain specified exigencies. Such paroles are normally granted in certain situations …

Parole, on the other hand, is the release of a person from the detention of custody even though substantial legal effect may be the same as bail. It is a temporary release from custody which does not suspend the sentence or period of detention. Furlough, on the other hand, is a brief release from the prison. It is conditional and is given in case of long-term imprisonment. The period of sentence spent on furlough by the prisoners need not be undergone by him as is done in the case of parole. Furlough is granted as a good conduct remission. A convict literally speaking, must remain in jail for the period of sentence or for rest of his life in case he is a life convict. It is in this context that his release from jail for a short period has to be considered as an opportunity afforded to him not only to solve his personal and family problems but also to maintain his links with society. Convicts too must breathe fresh air for at least some time provided they maintain good conduct consistently during incarceration and show a tendency to reform themselves and become good citizens. Thus, redemption and rehabilitation of such prisoners for good of societies must receive due weight age while they are undergoing sentence of imprisonment.”

Reliance was also placed upon the Supreme Court through various pronouncements which have laid down the difference between parole and furlough, most notably in the case of State of Maharashtra v. Suresh Panduram, as well as State of Haryana v. Mohinder Singh.

Further, in the landmark judgment of Charanjit Lal v. State of Delhi it was held:-

“(i) The four main objectives which a state intends to achieve by punishing an offender are-Deterrence, prevention, Retribution and Reformation.

(ii) Life convicts’ release from jail off and on for short periods has to be considered and opportunities have to be afforded to them not only to solve their personal and family problems but also to maintain their links with society.

(iii) They must breathe fresh air for at least sometime provided, of course, they maintain good conduct consistently during incarceration and they show a tendency to reform them and become good citizens.

(iv) Redemption and rehabilitation of such prisoners for the good of the society must receive due weight while they are undergoing sentence of imprisonment.”

The provisions of parole and furlough, thus, provide for a humanistic approach towards convicts lodged in jails. The main purpose of such provisions is to afford convicts with an opportunity to resolve their personal and family problems and to enable them to maintain their links with society. Every citizen of this country ought to have a vested interested in preparing offenders for successful re-entry into society. Those who leave prison without strong networks of support, employment prospects, fundamental knowledge of co-existing with the community they return to and without resources stands to diminish their prospects of reformation and increases their chances of failing to fit in the societal structure. Therefore, concepts such as parole and furlough, if used judiciously may help prepare convicts/prisoners to successfully re-enter society and live life as law-abiding citizens.