Snehal Upadhyay-
The Kerala High Court directs to release a prisoner who has been in jail for the past 18 years in punishment of 14 different cases.
The man committed 14 different criminal cases one after another, he was arrested in the year 2003 and from then he was in prison.
If the Court had not intervened the man shall have ended up serving 30 years in prison for offences like theft, housebreaking, lurking house-trespass by night, etc.
The man pleaded guilty in all 14 cases in front of the Court, as a result of which he was convicted in all the 14 offences.
In between 2007 to 2010, and was awarded varying jail terms for periods ranging from 6 months to 5 years which added together came to 30 years and six months.
The offences were committed in different periods making different cases which were also kept as pending in other trial Courts.
None of them exercised the discretion granted under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to order that the sentences would run concurrently, the Court highlighted this in its judgement
Justice Ashok Menon said, “I find that it will be in the interest of justice if this court exercises its jurisdiction under the CrPC and intervenes.”
This issue came to light when the convicted person filed a petition stating that his detention was illegal and that he was old and infirm and hence was claiming for his release.
Also read : Rajasthan HC: Parole cannot be denied to Eligible Prisoners, releases Convicts