If Parole Can Be Granted for Grief, Why Not for Joyful Occasions? : Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has granted parole to a man to bid farewell to his son, who is going to Australia for further studies, holding that if parole can be granted to share grief, it can also be granted for a happy occasion.

The court stated that conditional release for a brief period is allowed for convicts to maintain contact with the outside world and to manage their family affairs, as even behind bars, a convict remains someone’s son, husband, father, or brother.

A bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande noted that the provisions of parole and furlough have been viewed as a “humanistic approach” towards convicts.

The division bench was hearing a petition filed by Vivek Shrivastav seeking parole to arrange tuition fees and other expenses for his son’s education at an Australian university and to bid farewell to him.

The prosecution opposed the plea, arguing that parole is normally granted in emergency situations and that arranging money for education and bidding farewell to a son are not valid grounds for parole.

The court expressed its disagreement with the prosecution’s reasoning.

“Grief is an emotion, so is happiness, and if parole can be granted to share grief, why not to share a happy occasion or moment,” the bench stated.’

It further noted that if parole can be granted to celebrate a marriage, the same benefit should be extended to the petitioner, who needs it to arrange tuition fees for his son’s foreign education and to bid him farewell. Consequently, the court granted Shrivastav parole for ten days.

Background of the Case

Shrivastav was convicted in a 2012 murder case and is serving a life sentence. He was convicted in 2018 and filed an appeal in the High Court against his conviction in 2019.

According to his plea, his son has been selected for a course in Australia, for which tuition fees of Rs 36 lakh must be deposited, along with travel and stay expenses. Shrivastav sought release on parole for a month to arrange the funds and assist his family.

The bench emphasized that the aim and objective of the rules formulated for releasing a convict on parole or furlough are to enable the inmate to maintain continuity with family life and address family matters, as well as to save the convict from the adverse effects of continuous imprisonment and maintain mental balance.

“The core of the benefits under the Prisons (Bombay Furlough and Parole) Rules is to instill faith in the system for the convict,” the court stated.

The court added that, according to the Rules, parole is granted not only in emergencies but also for attending happy occasions or catering to the needs of family members.

“We fail to understand why the benefit of parole should be denied to the petitioner on a happy occasion like this, where the petitioner is seeking temporary relief to arrange financial resources and bid farewell to his son, who has secured admission to a prestigious university in Australia,” the high court said.

The court noted that a significant amount of money needs to be arranged for the petitioner’s son to go to Australia. “Unless the father is available to arrange for this amount, his young son may lose the opportunity he has received,” the bench said.

“We also believe that this is a moment to rejoice, where his son deserves a goodbye with best wishes from his father. We do not intend to keep the petitioner away from this moment, which brings pride to him as a father,” it added.

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