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| HC dismisses petition for release after serving 20 years in jail | | |
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Nov 16 (JNF): In a petition filed by Ashiq Hussain Factoo husband of Asiya Andrabi a leader of Dukhtaran-e-Millat seeking release after under going 14 years imprisonment, Justice Mansoor Ahmed Mir of J&K High Court Srinagar wing today dismissed the petition by referring the various judgments of the Apex Court in which the Apex Court held that Life-Imprisonment cannot be equivalent t0 imprisonment for 14 years or 20 years rather it always meant as the whole natural life.
The grievances of petitioner in the present petition is that he laid a motion before the Superintendent of Jail, Srinagar seeking his release from the detention on the ground that he has already served the period of sentence, i.e., imprisonment for life. It is averred that since the respondents have failed to redress his grievance, he was left with no option but to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court by the medium of present writ petition. It is prayed that the respondents be directed to release him from detention/custody/jail forthwith, as he has already completed 20 years and 11 days of sentence as on May 31, 2012.
The petitioner was facing trial before the Presiding Officer, Designated Court under TADA(P) Act, Jammu. After completion of the trial, he was acquitted vide judgment and order dated July 14, 2001. State questioned the said judgment before the Apex Court by the medium of appeal, Criminal Appeal No.889/2001. The said criminal appeal came to be allowed and the order of acquittal was set aside. The petitioner was convicted for the commission of offences punishable under Section 3 of Terrorists & Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (for short, TADA Act) read with Sections 302 and 120-B of The Indian Penal Code (for short, IPC), and was sentenced to life imprisonment vide judgment and order dated January 30, 2003.
Justice Mansoor Ahmed Mir observed that a distinction between imprisonment for life and 'imprisonment for a term' has been maintained in the Indian Penal Code in several of its provisions and moreover, whenever an offender is punishable with imprisonment for life he is not punishable with imprisonment which may be of either description within the meaning of Section 60 I.P.C. and therefore, we cannot come to the conclusion that the court, by itself, could release the convict automatically before the full life term is served.
Justice Mansoor Ahmed Mir observed that in light of the law laid down by the judgments, coupled with the fact that the respondents vide order dated 23.08.2012 have dismissed the representation of petitioner, this writ petition also merits to be dismissed and dismissed as such along with all connected CMPs.
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