JASWANT SINGH & ORSversusTHE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH & ANR.

                           [2023] 1 S.C.R. 595                               595


                      JASWANT SINGH & ORS.                                   A
                                     v.
             THE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH & ANR.
                 (Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 323 of 2022)
                          JANUARY 13, 2023
                                                                             B
   [DINESH MAHESHWARI AND BELA M. TRIVEDI, JJ.]
       Code of Criminal Procedure 1973: s. 432(2) – Grant of
Remission – Requirement of s. 432(2) – Held: Presiding Judge must
give adequate reasons while giving an opinion u/s. 432(2) – On
facts, three convicts, out of a total of eight, submitted their respective
applications for premature release but the same was refused–                 C
Held:The said orders should have contained adequate reasons after
taking into consideration the relevant factors that govern the grant
of remission as laid down in Laxman Naskar’s case applications for
remission – Issuance of direction to the Special Judge to reconsider
the applications of the petitioners afresh, accompanied by adequate          D
reasoning.
       Laxman Naskar v. Union of India, (2002) 2 SCC 595;
       Union of India v. Sriharan @ Murugan (2016) 7 SCC
       1 – relied on.
                         Case Law Reference                                  E
(2002) 2 SCC 595                   relied on                 Para 5
(2016) 7 SCC 1                     relied on                 Para 6
       CRIMINAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Writ Petition (Crl.)
No.323 of 2022.
                (Under Article 32 of The Constitution of India)              F
       Mohd. Irshad Hanif, Rizwan Ahmad, Shakeel Ahmad, Amir
Kaleem, Mohit Kumar, Gurmeet Singh, Saleem Khan, R. Sharath, Advs.
for the Petitioners.
       Vishal Prasad, Ms. Ritika Sethi, Advs. for the Respondents.
       The Judgment of the Court was delivered by                            G
       BELA M. TRIVEDI, J.
      1. The petitioners, who are the convicts and undergoing the
sentence of life imprisonment in view of the order dated 13.02.2015
passed by this Court in SLP (Crl.) No. 1348-49 of 2015, confirming the
judgement and order dated 10.05.2013 passed by the High Court of             H
                                  595
596            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2023] 1 S.C.R.


A     Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur, in Criminal Appeal No. 933/2010 (arising out
      of Sessions Case No. 16/2006), have invoked Article 32 of the
      Constitution of India seeking issuance of appropriate writ, order or
      direction commanding the respondents for presenting the case of the
      petitioners to the sentencing Court for fresh consideration.
B            2. The present petitioners along with other co-accused having
      been charged for the offences under Section 147, 148, 302/149, 307/149
      of IPC and Section 3(2)(5) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes
      (Prevention of Corruption Act) were tried and found guilty for the said
      offences by the Special Judge (SC, ST), Durg, in Special Case No. 16/
      2006, were sentenced to life imprisonment. It was alleged against them
C     that all the accused, 8 in number, had constituted an unlawful assembly
      and had killed Kartikram and Puneet using deadly weapons like sword,
      axe, wooden stick etc.
             3.The petitioner no.1 Jaswant Singh, aged about 63 years;
      petitioner no.2 Ajay, aged about 43 years and petitioner no.3 Naresh,
D     aged about 57 years on their undergoing the sentence of imprisonment
      for about 16 years without remission (with remission about 21 years of
      imprisonment) had submitted their respective applications under Section
      432(2) of Cr.PC to the Jail Superintendent, Central Jail, Durg seeking
      their premature release. The Jail Superintendent sought an opinion of
E     the concerned Sessions Court which had convicted the petitioners. The
      Special Judge, Durg, Chhattisgarh vide the letters dated 2.7.2021,
      10.8.2021 and 1.10.2021 respectively gave his opinion stating inter alia
      that in view of the facts and circumstances of the case, it was not
      appropriate to allow remission of the remaining sentence of the said
      petitioners.
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            4. The Law Department, Government of Chhattisgarh, also vide
      the note dated 27.11.2021 gave an opinion that in view of the opinion
      given by the presiding Judge of the Sentencing Court, the petitioner no.
      1 and 3 ought not to be given the benefit of the provisions of Section
      433-A Cr.PC. Thereafter, the Director General, Jail and Correctional
G     Services Chhattisgarh on 21.02.2022 referred the case of the petitioner
      no.2 to the Home Department, Government of Chhattisgarh and on
      02.03.2022, addressed a letter to the Addl. Chief Secretary, Jail
      Department, Government of Chhattisgarh, for again moving the file of
      the petitioner no.1 and 3 for remission along with other convicts. On
      22.3.2022, the Law Department, Government of Chhattisgarh once again
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    JASWANT SINGH & ORS. v. THE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH                         597
                & ANR [BELA M. TRIVEDI, J.]

gave its opinion that since the presiding Judge of the Sentencing Court       A
had not given positive opinion, the petitioner no.1 and 3 should not be
released on remission. The Director General, Jail and Correctional
Services, therefore, rejected the applications of the petitioner no. 1 and
3 for their release on remission. It appears that the application of the
respondent no.2 remained pending for consideration before the Home
                                                                              B
Department, Government of Chhattisgarh.
        5. In the meantime, one of the co-accused Ram Chander, who
was also convicted along with the present petitioners in the said case,
had preferred a writ petition being Writ Petition (Criminal) No.49/2022,
in which this Court vide order dated 22.4.2022 directed the respondents
to reconsider the case of the said petitioner and directed the Special        C
Judge to provide an opinion afresh accompanied by adequate reasoning
after taking into consideration the relevant factors laid down in Laxman
Naskar vs. Union of India1. The Special Judge (Atrocities Act Durg),
therefore, considering the guidelines given by this Court in Laxman
Naskar vs. Union of India (supra) opined inter alia that the sentence         D
of the prisoner Ram Chander (co-accused) could be set-aside and
accordingly recommended to remit his sentence.
      6. We have heard learned counsels for the parties and carefully
considered the judgment and order passed by this Court in Writ Petition
(Criminal) No.49/2022 filed by the co-accused Ram Chander. In the             E
said judgment, the Coordinate Bench has considered in detail the
requirement of the factors laid down in case of Laxman Naskar vs.
Union of India (supra), to be considered by the Presiding Judge while
giving opinion under Section 432(2) Cr.P.C., and the powers of the
appropriate Government to suspend or remit sentences under Sections
432 and 433-A of Cr.PC. The Court in the said judgement, after                F
considering the earlier judgements of this Court, more particularly of the
Constitution Bench in case of Union of India vs. Sriharan @ Murugan2
and in case of Laxman Naskar vs. Union of India (supra) observed
as under: -
         “20. In Sriharan (supra), the Court observed that the opinion of     G
         the presiding judge shines a light on the nature of the crime that
         has been committed, the record of the convict, their background
         and other relevant factors. Crucially, the Court observed that the
1
    (2002) 2 SCC 595
2
    (2016) 7 SCC 1                                                            H
598      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                             [2023] 1 S.C.R.


A     opinion of the presiding judge would enable the government to
      take the ‘right’ decision as to whether or not the sentence should
      be remitted. Hence, it cannot be said that the opinion of the
      presiding judge is only a relevant factor, which does not have any
      determinative effect on the application for remission. The purpose
      of the procedural safeguard under Section 432 (2) of the CrPC
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      would stand defeated if the opinion of the presiding judge becomes
      just another factor that may be taken into consideration by the
      government while deciding the application for remission. It is
      possible then that the procedure under Section 432 (2) would
      become a mere formality.
C     21. However, this is not to say that the appropriate government
      should mechanically follow the opinion of the presiding judge. If
      the opinion of the presiding judge does not comply with the
      requirements of Section 432 (2) or if the judge does not consider
      the relevant factors for grant of remission that have been laid
D     down in Laxman Naskar v. Union of India (supra), the government
      may request the presiding judge to consider the matter afresh.
      22. In the present case, there is nothing to indicate that the presiding
      judge took into account the factors which have been laid down in
      Laxman Naskar v. Union of India (supra). These factors include
E     assessing (i) whether the offence affects the society at large; (ii)
      the probability of the crime being repeated; (iii) the potential of
      the convict to commit crimes in future; (iv) if any fruitful purpose
      is being served by keeping the convict in prison; and (v) the socio-
      economic condition of the convict’s family. In Laxman Naskar v.
      State of West Bengal (supra) and State of Haryana v. Jagdish
F     (2010) 4 SCC 216, this Court has reiterated that these factors
      will be considered while deciding the application of a convict for
      premature release.
      23. In his opinion dated 21 July 2021 the Special Judge, Durg
      referred to the crime for which the petitioner was convicted and
G     simply stated that in view of the facts and circumstances of the
      case it would not be appropriate to grant remission. The opinion is
      in the teeth of the provisions of Section 432 (2) of the CrPC which
      require that the presiding judge’s opinion must be accompanied
      by reasons. Halsbury’s Laws of India (Administrative Law) notes
H     that the requirement to give reasons is satisfied if the concerned
JASWANT SINGH & ORS. v. THE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH                          599
            & ANR [BELA M. TRIVEDI, J.]

   authority has provided relevant reasons. Mechanical reasons are         A
   not considered adequate. The following extract is useful for our
   consideration: “[005.066] Adequacy of reasons Sufficiency of
   reasons, in a particular case, depends on the facts of each case.
   It is not necessary for the authority to write out a judgement as a
   court of law does. However, at least, an outline of process of
                                                                           B
   reasoning must be given. It may satisfy the requirement of giving
   reasons if relevant reasons have been given for the order, though
   the authority has not set out all the reasons or some of the reasons
   which had been argued before the court have not been expressly
   considered by the authority. A mere repetition of the statutory
   language in the order will not make the order a reasoned one.           C
   Mechanical and stereotype reasons are not regarded as adequate.
   A speaking order is one that speaks of the mind of the adjudicatory
   body which passed the order. A reason such as ’the entire
   examination of the year 1982 is cancelled’, cannot be regarded as
   adequate because the statement does explain as to why the
                                                                           D
   examination has been cancelled; it only lays down the punishment
   without stating the causes therefor.”(Halsbury’s Laws of India
   (Administrative Law) (Lexis Nexis, Online Edition).
   24. Thus, an opinion accompanied by inadequate reasoning would
   not satisfy the requirements of Section 432 (2) of the CrPC. Further,
   it will not serve the purpose for which the exercise under Section      E
   432 (2) is to be undertaken, which is to enable the executive to
   make an informed decision taking into consideration all the relevant
   factors.
   25. In view of the above discussion, we hold that the petitioner’s
   application for remission should be re-considered. We direct the        F
   Special Judge, Durg to provide an opinion on the application afresh
   accompanied by adequate reasoning that takes into consideration
   all the relevant factors that govern the grant of remission as laid
   down in Laxman Naskar v. Union of India (supra). The Special
   Judge, Durg must provide his opinion within a month of the date         G
   of the receipt of this order. We further direct the State of
   Chhattisgarh to take a final decision on the petitioner’s application
   for remission afresh within a month of receiving the opinion of the
   Special Judge, Durg.”

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600             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 1 S.C.R.


A           7. Since the case of the present petitioners is also similar to the
      case of the co-accused Ram Chander, in as much as the Presiding
      Officer’s opinions contained in the letters dated 02.07.2021, 10.08.2021
      and 01.10.2021 do not contain reasons with regard to the factors to be
      taken into consideration as laid down in case of Laxman Naskar vs.
      Union of India (supra), we propose to pass similar order as passed in
B
      the case of co-accused Ram Chander.
             8. In that view of the matter, it is held that the petitioners’
      applications for remission are required to be reconsidered by the
      respondent authorities afresh. Accordingly, we direct the Special Judge,
      Durg to provide an opinion on the applications of the petitioners afresh
C     accompanied by adequate reasoning after taking into consideration the
      relevant factors that govern the grant of remission as laid down in
      Laxman Naskar vs. Union of India (supra). After receiving the opinion
      of the Special Judge Durg, the State of Chhattisgarh shall take a final
      decision on the petitioners’ applications for remission afresh as
D     expeditiously as possible and not later than one month of receiving the
      opinion of the Special Judge. The present writ petition stands allowed in
      the above terms.
             All pending applications, if any shall stand disposed of.

E     Nidhi Jain                                             Writ Petition allowed.
      (Assisted by : Bhavyata Kapoor, LCRA)




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