Judgment:
(Prayer: This criminal petition is filed under Sections 482 and 483 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, praying to issue appropriate directions to the respondents and to pass appropriate orders pursuant to the Reports- I,II,III and IV registered as Criminal Petition under Sections 482 and 483 of Cr. P C.)
1. In Crl. A. No.90/2010 c/w Crl. A Nos.16/2010 and 169/2010, one of the appellants (namely appellant No.7/prisoner) was un-represented. Hence, we issued a Body Warrant to produce him before us. But, the Warrant was returned unexecuted with a report that he was released on parole, but did not return to Jail since two years. Therefore, we directed the State to file report as to in how many cases prisoners, who were released on parole, did not return to Jail and the action taken in that regard. Accordingly, on 21.2.2014, the State has filed reports. According to Report No.-II, in 42 cases, prisoners, who were released on parole from Central Jail at Bangalore, Mysore, Bijapur, Belgaum, Bellary and Open Air Jail at Koramangala, did not return. Since it is a serious issue, in pursuance of the powers conferred upon this Court under Sections 482 and 483 of Cr. PC, we directed the Registry to separate the Reports I, II, III and IV from Criminal Appeal No.90/2010 and register it as Criminal Petition for further orders. Thus, the present Criminal Petition is registered and posted before us.
2. On our request, Sri B V Acharya, learned Senior Counsel, agreed to represent the petitioner/Registrar General of High Court of Karnataka, as amicus curiae. Learned amicus curiae has filed his statement suggesting the following measures:
i. that when a prisoner, who is a party in any pending criminal case, is released on parole, the concerned Court shall be informed of the fact of his release on parole and his return to Jail;
ii. that whenever a prisoner is released on parole, the jurisdictional Magistrate, within whose jurisdiction the prisoner resides, should be informed and he shall maintain a register there-for;
iii. that if the prisoner does not return to the Jaii, the concerned Police must inform the jurisdictional Magistrate with particulars; of registration of a case against the prisoner and the steps taken for his arrest; and
iv. that a judicial Officer to maintain a register for follow up action.
3. Learned Advocate General, Sri Ravivarma Kumar appearing for Respondent No.1/Home Department submitted that the State has taken steps and issued instructions and also advised the Government to make suitable amendment to rule 190(7) of the Karnataka Prison Rules to mandate the superintendent of the prison to lodge complaint against the convict who has failed to surrender before the prison on the scheduled date and time, within 24 hours to the jurisdictional police station of his failure; that the National Information Center (NIC) is implementing the networking of all prisons in India wherein the Home Department has suggested to network the jurisdictional police station of the prison with the prison so as to immediately and electronically intimate the jurisdictional police of the failure of convict to surrender and committing of an offence under section 58 of the Karnataka Prisons Act and post the matter after a period of six months for the review of the actions taken in this regard.
4. Sri Venkatesh, learned SPP-II, appearing for Respondents 2 to 8 has filed memos with regard to the steps taken as against the prisoners, who failed to surrender after the completion of the parole period and he has no objection for issuing appropriate directions.
5. The Karnataka Prisons Act, 1963 (in short, 'the Prisons Act') and the Karnataka Prisons Rules, 1974 (in short, 'the Prisons Rules), governs the release of prisoners on parole. More particularly sections 55 to 58 of the chapter XII of the Prisons Act deals with regard to temporary release of prisoners and the penalty in the event of failure to surrender to jail. It reads as under:
"55. Power to release certain prisoners temporarily.- (1) The State Government or any authority to which the State Government may delegate its power in this behalf may, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, release temporarily for a period not exceeding ten days in a year (excluding the time required for journeys and the days of departure from and the arrival of prison) any prisoner who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than three years.
(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to a prisoner who has been classified as habitual criminal for the purposes of this Act and who has had more than three convictions.
(3) No person shall be released under sub-section (1) unless.-
(a) he has at the time of his release served one half of his sentence including remission or a period not less than two years of sentence including "-emission, whichever is less;
(b) his conduct in prison has been good;
(c) twelve months have elapsed from the date of the expiry of the period of his previous release, if any, under this section.
(4) The period of release of a prisoner under sub-section (1) shall not count towards the total period of his sentence.
56. Release on parole.- (1) The State Government or any authority to which the State Government may delegate its power in this behalf, may, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, release on parole for such period as it may deem necessary, any prisoner in case of any serious illness or death of any member of the prisoner's family or of any of his nearest relatives or for any other sufficient cause.
(2) The period of release of a prisoner under sub-section (1) shall not count towards the total period of his sentence.
57. Prisoner to surrender himself on the expiration of the period otherwise liable to be arrested.- (1) On the expiry of the period for which a prisoner was released temporarily under sub-section (1) of Section 55, or on parole under sub-section (1) of Section 56, he shall surrender himself to the officer-in- charge of the prison from which he was released.
(2) If a prisoner fails to surrender himself as required by sub-section (1), he may be arrested by any Police Officer without a warrant and produced before a Judicial Magistrate who shall remand him to undergo the unexpired portion of the sentence.
58. Penalty for failure to surrender.- Any prisoner who fails to surrender himself, as required by sub-section (1) of Section 57, snail, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine, or with both
6. Now we refer to Rule 191 of the Prisoners Rules, which reads as under:
"153. Release under Section 56.- (1) Release of a prisoner under Section 56 shall be initially for a period not exceeding thirty days which may be extended by such period not exceeding thirty days at a time as the State Government or the authority releasing him deems fit:
Provided that the total period of release at a stretch shall not exceed ninety days.
(2) A prisoner who desires to be released on parole shall submit his application in triplicate in Form No. IX to the Superintendent who shall submit the same along with his remark? to the Inspector-General along with nominal roll cf the prisoner and such other information as may be required.
(3) The prisoner shall execute a bond with two satisfactory sureties ror a sum of Rs.3,000/- each before the Superintendent giving an undertaking that he will return to the prison before the expiry of the period of his temporary release and that he will maintain good conduct during the period and that he shall not associate with bad characters. He shall also notify the place where he intends to reside during the period of temporary release.
(4) The Superintendent shall ascertain from the Tahsildar and the police concerned particulars of the sureties before accepting them and the genuineness or otherwise of the purpose for which the prisoner has applied for grant of parole. The Tahsiidar ana the police concerned shall within fifteen days after the receipt of reference, forward their report to the Superintendent failing which it is presumed that they have nothing adverse to report. The Superintendent shall thereafter make his recommendation to the Inspector-General of Prisons, who shall examine and pass suitable orders for release of prison on parole subject to the conditions specified in sub-rule (3).
(5) The expenses of the journey to and fro shall be borne by the prisoners.
Provided that expenses of the journey to and fro from the open Air Jail, Koramangala shall be borne by the Government.
(6) If a prisoner who has been released under Section 56 fails to surrender within the stipulated time or to observe the conditions specified in the bond executed by him and the sureties, the bond shall be forfeited and proceeding may be started against him and the sureties under Sections 446 and 447 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,- 1973 as if it is a bond executed by the said prisoner and the sureties before a Court under the said Code.
(7) The release and surrender reports shall at once be submitted by the Superintendent or the Inspector- General and copy thereof sent to the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police concerned."
7. The following is the gist of the report filed by the State relating to release of prisoners from the Central jail at Bangalore, Mysore, Bellary, Bijapur, Belgaum and Open Air Jail at Koramangala, Bangalore, on General/Emergency Parole, but failed to surrender to jail even after expiry of the parole period:
| Parole escapes from Bangalore Jail | |||||||
| No. of Prisoners Released on Parole. | No. of Prisoners escaped on Parole. | No. of Prisoners yet to be recaptured. | |||||
| SI. No. | Year | General | Emergency | General | Emergency | General | Emergency |
| 1 | 2006 | 137 | 121 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 2007 | 187 | 464 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | 2008 | 221 | 509 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | 2009 | 332 | 778 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 2010 | 249 | 505 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 6 | 2011 | 401 | 535 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | 2012 | 387 | 397 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | 2013 | 462 | 133 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | 2014 | 34 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2410 | 3470 | 34 | 38 | 15 | 13 | |
From Mysore Jail | ||||||
| SI. No. | Year | No. of Prisoners Released on Parole. | No. of Prisoners escaped on Parole. | |||
| General | Emergency | General | Emergency | |||
| 1 | 2003 | 70 | - | - | - | |
| 2 | 2004 | 44 | 7 | - | - | |
| 3 | 2005 | 52 | 45 | - | - | |
| 4 | 2006 | 73 | 75 | - | - | |
| 5 | 2007 | 114 | 5 | 1 | - | |
| 6 | 2008 | 96 | 134 | 3 | - | |
| 7 | 2009 | 96 | 180 | 8 | 2 | |
| 8 | 2010 | 130 | 91 | 1 | 1 | |
| 9 | 2011 | 187 | 67 | 2 | 1 | |
| 10 | 2012 | 188 | 26 | - | 1 | |
| 11 | 2013 | 131 | 4 | 1 | - | |
| 12 | 2014 | 56 | - | - | - | |
| Total | 1237 | 704 | 16 | 5 | ||
From Bellary Jail | |||||
| No. of Prisoners Released on Parole. | No. of Prisoners escaped on Parole. | ||||
| SI. No. | Year | ||||
| General | Emergency | General | Emergency | ||
| 1 | 1999 | 39 | - | - | - |
| 2 | 2000 | 43 | - | 1 | - |
| 3 | 2001 | 51 | - | - | - |
| 4 | 2002 | 44 | - | - | - |
| 5 | 2003 | 37 | - | - | - |
| 6 | 2004 | 35 | 2 | - | - |
| 7 | 2005 | 10 | 13 | - | - |
| 8 | 2006 | 31 | 6 | - | - |
| 9 | 2007 | 38 | 60 | - | 1 |
| 10 | 2008 | 50 | 78 | - | - |
| 11 | 2009 | 52 | 94 | - | - |
| 12 | 2010 | 46 | 76 | - | 1 |
| 13 | 2011 | 52 | 57 | 1 | - |
| 14 | 2012 | 39 | 38 | 1 | - |
| 15 | 2013 | 36 | 13 | - | - |
| Total | 603 | 437 | 3 | 1 | |
From Bijapur Jail | |||||
| SI. No. | Year | No. of Prisoners Released on Parole. | No. of Prisoners escaped on Parole. | ||
| General | Emergency | General | Emergency | ||
| 1 | 2001 | 15 | - | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 2002 | 16 | - | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 2003 | 12 | - | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 2004 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 2005 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | 2006 | 8 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 2007 | 6 | 60 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 2008 | 11 | 110 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | 2009 | 11 | 214 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 2010 | 32 | 307 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | 2011 | 36 | 365 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 | 2012 | 52 | 159 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | 2013 | 67 | 53 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | 2014 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 283 | 1337 | 5 | 9 | |
From Belgaum Jail | |||||
| SI. No. | Year | No. of Prisoners Released on Parole. | No. of escaped Prisoners on Parole. | ||
| General | Emergency | General | Emergency | ||
| 1 | 2009-10 | 14 | 204 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | 2010-11 | 29 | 209 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 2011-12 | 43 | 131 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 2012-14 | 43 | 67 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | 2013-14 | 40 | 44 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 169 | 655 | 2 | 10 | |
From OAJ Koramangala | |||||
| SI. No. | Year | No. of Prisoners Released on Parole. | No. of Prisoners escaped on Parole. | ||
| General | Emergency | General | Emergency | ||
| 1 | 2001 | 40 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 2 | 2002 | 18 | - | - | - |
| 3 | 2003 | 6 | - | - | - |
| 4 | 2004 | 3 | 2 | - | - |
| 5 | 2005 | 4 | 6 | - | - |
| 6 | 2006 | 12 | 2 | - | - |
| 7 | 2007 | 12 | 6 | - | - |
| 8 | 2008 | 3 | 17 | - | - |
| 9 | 2009 | 12 | 29 | - | - |
| 10 | 2010 | 23 | 17 | - | - |
| 11 | 2011 | 20 | 8 | 1 | - |
| 12 | 2012 | 34 | 4 | - | - |
| 13 | 2013 | 10 | 3 | - | - |
| Total | 197 | 95 | 2 | - | |
8. As per the above table in all 81 prisoners released on General/Emergency parole from various jails in the State of Karnataka are still at large. As per section 58 of the Prisons Act, any prisoner who fails to surrender himself, is an offence punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine, or with both. From the above table, it is crystal clear that a prisoner who was released in the year 2000 on General parole from Bellary Jail is not yet arrested and case is also not registered for the offence punishable under section 58 of the Prisons Act. Again, in the year 2001, a prisoner, who was released on general parole from the Open Air Prisoner at Koramangala, is also at large. Thus, the above-said prisoners are at large for about nearly 14 years and 13 years, respectively. The above cases are few high lighted examples, for quick understanding as to how the Prisons Wing in the state of Karnataka is functioning.
9. According to sub-Section (2) of Section 57 of the Prisons Act, if a prisoner fails to surrender himself as required by sub-section (1), he may be arrested by any Police Office" without a warrant and produced before a Judicial Magistrate, who shall remand him to undergo the unexpired portion of the sentence. The bond executed by the prisoner and the sureties are also liable to be forfeited and proceedings shall be initiated against the prisoner and the sureties for recovery of the bond amount under Sections 446 and 447 of the Cr.P C, 1973, as if the bond is executed by the said prisoner and the sureties before a Court under the said Code. Why the authorities concerned have slept over the matter for such a long period ?. The State has not cited any acceptable ground to forgive and condone the inaction. There is no provision in the said Act for monitoring the prisoners' release by the Judiciary. It is pertinent to note that whenever a prisoner, who is a party in any criminal proceeding before a court, is released, it is the duty of the Superintendent of the concerned Jail to inform the concerned Court as to release of the prisoner on parole.
10. In view of the above, we deem it necessary to issue the following directions:
i. that the State Government in Home Department shall take immediate steps to arrest all those prisoners, who have failed to surrender to jail in spite of expiry of the parole period;
ii. that to examine the dereliction of duty of the concerned in so far not taking immediate action for registering criminal cases and arresting the prisoners, who have escaped on parole, etc., in accordance with law;
iii. that the Superintendent of the jails are directed to furnish all the particulars regarding the release of prisoners on parole and other details as furnished to this court to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or the Chief Judicial Magistrate, as the case may be, of the concerned District, on or before 31.05.2014;
iv. that from 1.05.2014 onwards, the concerned superintendent of Jail, shall furnish information on day to day basis regarding releasing of prisoners on parole and subsequent events, to the concerned CMM/CJM, as the case may be.
v. the CMM/CJM on receipt of the reports shall enter the details in a register may be called as 'Prisoners Parole";
vi. that State shall submit a report as to arrest of all the prisoners who have failed to surrender, to the Registrar (Judicial) of High Court of Karnataka, on or before 30.06.2014;
vii. that in future whenever a prisoner, who is released on parole, fails to surrender on completion of the parole period, the concerned Superintendent of the Jail, shall immediately register a criminal case in the Police Station in whose jurisdiction the Jail is situated arid also initiate proceedings for forfeiture or. bond or cash deposit, and recovery thereof, as the case may be;
viii. that in future it is mandatory that whenever a prisoner, who is a party in any criminal proceeding pending, the factum of his release on parole shall be intimated to the concerned Court;
ix. that whenever CMM/CJM makes his routine visit to jail for inspection, he shall also carry the 'parole register' for comparison with the 'Jail register' and check the attendance of the inmates; and submit quarterly report to High Court; and the first report up to end of June 2014 shall be submitted in month of July 2014; that the State Government shall issue the necessary directions to the Commissioner of Police or the Superior, dents, as the case may be, for their visit to jail and inspection. that the Registrar (judicial) is directed to send copy of this order to the Registrar of City Civil Court and Small Causes Court, Bangalore, and to the Principal District and Sessions Judge in the State of Karnataka, for information and circulation among the judicial officers in the Unit.
Accordingly, Petition is disposed off.
Before parting, we place a word of appreciation on record to the Amicus curiae Shri B.V. Acharya, Ld Senior Counsel, for his able assistance given in this case.