Prisoners Are Eligible For Leave Even If Appeal Is Pending; But Not If Trial Is Ongoing: Madras HC

The Madras High Court has clarified that prisoners can be granted ordinary or emergency leave even if their appeal is pending before the High Court or a Special Leave Petition (SLP) is pending before the Supreme Court. However, prisoners facing trial in another case are not entitled to such leave.

The full bench of Justice SM Subramaniam, Justice TV Thamilselvi, and Justice Sunder Mohan interpreted Rule 35 of the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982, stating that prison authorities have the discretion to grant ordinary leave.

"If a prisoner is facing trial in any other case while undergoing the conviction period, then the Prison Authorities are empowered to reject the application in limine by exercising the powers conferred under Rule 35 of the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982. To reiterate, a prisoner convicted in one case and facing criminal trial in other case is not eligible to avail leave from the hands of the Prison Authorities," the Bench observed. 

Court's Observations

The Court emphasized that the rules only restrict leave for prisoners facing a pending trial, not those whose appeals are under consideration. “The language employed under Rule 35—'pending trial'—indicates that the said rule has no application to criminal appeals pending before the High Court or the Supreme Court,” the Bench clarified.

The Court further explained that the intent behind barring leave during a pending trial is to ensure the prisoner's presence in court. Since appeal proceedings do not require such mandatory presence, Rule 35 does not serve as an obstacle for granting leave to prisoners in such cases.

The Bench made the observations in response to a reference regarding the interpretation of Rule 35.

The Court also addressed whether time spent in remand or trial custody could be considered when determining a convict's eligibility for ordinary leave under Rule 22. It held that remand prisoners cannot be equated with convicted prisoners, as they are under judicial custody. Therefore, their period of incarceration during remand or trial does not count toward the computation of the sentence under the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules.

Further, the Court emphasized that only the trial court has the authority to grant bail or leave to remand prisoners, not the prison authorities. “When a prisoner is remanded by the Court concerned, the Prison Authorities cannot exercise their powers to grant leave under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982. Since the  remand prisoner is under judicial custody and the Court has remanded him/her until such time as required under law, the Court alone is empowered to grant bail or leave. Consequently, prison authorities are not empowered to grant parole or leave to remand prisoners under the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules,” the Court said.

Cause Title: T. Ramalakshmi v. The State & Ors. [W.P.(MD).Nos.9491, 9321, 9465, 9646 & 17228 of 2024]

Appearance:-

Petitioner: Advocates D. Selvam, S. Manoharan, S. Srikanth, SMA. Jinnah

Respondent: Advocates Hasan Mohamed Jinna (State Public Prosecutor),  R. Muniyapparaj (Additional Public Prosecutor), A. Damodaran (Additional Public Prosecutor), E. Raj Thilak (Additional Public Prosecutor)

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