Possibility of altercation between neighbours cannot be equated with affecting ‘peace and tranquility of the area’

Allahabad High Court: A murder convict was released on parole to attend the marriage of his daughter, by a Division Bench comprising of Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Dinesh Kumar Singh, JJ.
The petitioner who was convicted under Sections 302, 307, etc. of IPC was sentenced for life imprisonment. He applied for grant of parole to attend the marriage ceremony of his daughter. The State Government, by the impugned order, rejected the said application of the petitioner on the basis of report of the District Magistrate, wherein it was stated that if the petitioner is released on parole, the possibility of some untoward incident could not be ruled out as the family of the victim resided in the vicinity. Aggrieved thus, the petitioner filed the instant petition.
The High Court, after a due consideration of the impugned order as well as the report of the District Magistrate, was of the view that the order of rejection of parole passed by the State Government did not only disclose any other reason than the said report, but also does not recite any adverse fact or material on which such report was based. Only because family of the victim resided in the same area as that of the petitioner, and the District Magistrate was of the opinion that it may cause some untoward incident; it could not be said that it would have affected ‘peace and tranquility of the state’ as mentioned in Rule 6(2) of Uttar Pradesh (Suspension of Sentence of Prisoners) Rules, 2007. Further, the amplitude of possibility of peace and tranquility of the area being affected can not be equated with the possibility of some altercation between two neighbours.
On the basis of above observations, the Court allowed the instant petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution and granted parole to the petitioner to attend marriage of his daughter, with necessary direction to the authorities concerned. [Rampal Gautam v. State of U.P.,  2018 SCC OnLine All 159, order dated 16-02-2018]